


Was It Always Like This?

by Haggis (Karen121968)



Series: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Willow/Giles) [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Can't really believe I used to write het pairings, F/M, Men in tweed was a powerful look in the 1990s!, but here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-05 17:38:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 77,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19045204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karen121968/pseuds/Haggis
Summary: Originally posted on Hairy Eyeball Yahoo Group 02/04/2005 (in the olden days!) so the following is the summary used when it was first posted.Summary: Willow finally stops looking and notices what's in front of herDisclaimer: Mr. Whedon and those nice people at Mutant Enemy didn't give their permission for any part of my little fantasy world where Willow and Giles finally get together.Feedback: Gratefully received I get pitifully excited when mail appears in my inboxBeta Reader: Jerri thanks for all of the encouragement and suggestions definitely the unsung hero of this team!Notes: Takes place after the end of season 6. Replaces the Spike nakedness of Season 7 with some Giles nakedness instead!





	1. Chapter 1

Willow took several calming breaths and opened her eyes. After a second or two to regain her focus, she glanced around the room to see where he was. Slowly unwinding herself from the lotus position and standing up she looked around for him "Giles?" She could have sworn he was in the room with her, could feel his presence while she was finishing up her relaxation and centering exercises.

A small woman with incredibly neat, greying hair put her head around the door. "He had to take a call from America, said he'd be back soon" she smiled at Willow and shook her head at her. "You're still able to sense him aren't you?"

Willow looked a little embarrassed and studied her hands for a brief moment. "A little" she admitted in a quiet voice. "But now it's only when he's in the same room with me"

Morag held the door open further and stood back to let the young woman out of the room. "We did warn you that the connection would take a little while to wear off"

Willow headed downstairs and turned round to continue the conversation. "I know but it's been three months and unless someone is paying the bill surely we should be disconnected by now!" She heaved a big sigh of frustration and waved her arms around for emphasis "I mean, everything else is almost back to normal and I'm worried that this isn't ever going to go away"

Morag looked at her and put her hand on the girl's arm to still her movements. "I promise you that you will eventually lose the magical connection, perhaps you should try to stay apart for a while and see if that speeds things up any?" She suggested with an upward movement of her eyebrow. All of the coven members had remarked on the way that they seemed to be constantly in each other's company and several had wondered at deeper feelings than either was admitting to.

"Perhaps I can help with that" Giles walked up to them and nodded at Morag. "How did the session go?" he asked Willow.

"Fine" Willow said a little grumpily and headed past him to the garden. "What did you mean about helping?" she asked over her shoulder as they all moved to a garden seat to soak up the warmth of the evening.

"Buffy has just phoned and asked when we will be returning, it seems they have a rather interesting problem and need us to do the boring stuff for them" he smiled at Willow as they shared the joke about the lack of research skills from the others. 

"Where are Dawn and Anya?" asked Willow. "I thought they were handling the book work?"

"Apparently the text is particularly ancient and nobody can figure out what language it is written in, never mind translate it" Giles leaned back and stretched a little. "Anyway Buffy asked how your studies were going and then started to tell me about the latest sale at the mall but I managed to get her to stop by promising you would call her"

Willow smiled at him and sighed. "I guess this means the actual decision to return is about to be made?" she asked and squinted at both Morag and Giles. 

Morag nodded. "Perhaps you should talk to Buffy about your return when you phone her back"

Giles put his arm around the young wicca. "You know that they are all willing to accept that you have changed but they need to see you and understand just how far you've come"

"I know" she looked pensive. "And I still can't believe that they have all forgiven me but perhaps it's easy to do over the phone, perhaps they won't feel the same when they see me again"

Giles squeezed her shoulder a little. "Things will be difficult at first but you are strong enough to overcome their fears and your own" 

Willow gazed off into the middle distance and seemed to be deep in thought. Morag motioned to Giles that she was returning to the house and he nodded and sat back to enjoy the beginning of the sunset over the rolling green countryside. He let himself relax until he could feel the flow of energy around him in the garden and surrounding woods. Breathing slowly he was also aware of Willow sitting next to him and her obvious concern. He knew it was a big step and he also knew that Buffy and the others were just as concerned about how Willow would react to them on her return, however, both Buffy and Willow trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't let Willow return unless he was sure of her ability to control the dark energy.

In truth, he had been anxious at the beginning that she would ever be brought back from the edge of the abyss. Upon their arrival at the coven, everyone had realised the size of the task facing them, with one of the strongest witches of recent times in turmoil and seriously thinking of ending her own life to save anyone suffering at her hands again. The decision to make her responsible for Giles' recovery seemed to give her enough of a reason to put off the inevitable until he was safe. Obviously, she hadn't been allowed to use any magic and the non-magical process of nursing him, tending his wounds and feeding him had taken long enough to allow her to begin grieving for all that she had lost. 

The residual effects of the magical connection she had started at the Magic Box had become apparent while Giles was still quite ill. Despite sleeping in a different part of the house she was still acutely aware of his pain. On several occasions, she had responded first to his numerous relapses. Over the intervening months, the connection had lessened a little. Both of them had been very relieved when the initial stage had passed and they were no longer in constant communication. 

However, it had taken a further two weeks for Giles to stop being able to see through her eyes, a very disconcerting ability that caused serious arguments when Willow refused to use a bathroom with a mirror and asked that he be sedated when she was showering. 

The remaining link was more of an awareness of the other's presence and general state of mind. Giles had suggested that it was little more than their reaction as old friends, having spent many hours in each others company, but Willow still felt that she couldn't have confidence in her control until she was entirely on her own and knew the safety net he provided was no longer present.

Willow stirred and gave herself a small shake. She had known this time would come and that she had to return to Sunnydale. The only way she could think to redeem herself was to continue the fight to stop the Hellmouth from being opened. The decision seemed such an obvious one to her now, however, she was still scared about the reaction from her friends. Taking a deep breath she decided that the only way to find out how they were going to react to her was to go home. 

She looked around the garden and watched the last rays of sunlight disappear over the nearest hill. She didn't know if she would ever return to this place but knew that the calm and beauty she had been shown here would always stay with her. Her gaze finally stopped at Giles, seemingly almost asleep on the bench next to her. As she smiled slightly she felt him return from deep relaxation. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," she said quietly and returned her gaze to the garden.

"You didn't" he smiled and sat up a little, leaning his forearms on his knees. "I was just thinking about the garden and how much it has changed in our time here"

"I'm going to picture it as perpetual springtime in my memories" she smiled. "I'm going to miss the green"

"You can always come and visit us again you know, you'll always be welcome" he suggested and noticed her stiffening slightly beside him.

"You're not coming back with me, are you?" she asked quietly, his earlier remark coming back to her. "That's how we're going to be able to be apart more"

He sighed and took his glasses off. "This is something you need to do on your own and I have work here I must finish"

"When you came back to stop me, you told Buffy that the most adult thing to do was to ask for help" she suggested and turned to let him see her smile. "I guess I can't play that card, can I?" 

"I'm not saying I'll never come back or that I'm not here for any of you, but I have other things that need to be done and you are all more than capable of dealing with just about anything the Hellmouth can throw at you" He paused and put his glasses back on. "Although, if any of you try to destroy the world you might want to drop me a line"

"Dawn was suggesting that as a solution to her homework backlog but I think Buffy dealt with it" she kept her tone light, despite the incipient panic rising within her at their impending separation. "Besides it will be nice to get back to a bathroom with a full-length mirror"

"I haven't been able to see anything for over two months" he protested and stood up, holding out his hand to help her up as they both laughed. He could tell she was concerned about his absence but knew that it was a vital part of the final stages of her recovery.

They headed back towards the house and preparations for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

Willow took her time collecting her hand baggage from the locker and waited till practically everyone else was off the plane before heading towards the exit. The flight had been long, uncomfortable and boring but she had seriously considered staying onboard for the return flight to London. 

With a final glance at the cabin, she took a deep breath and headed down the ramp to the arrivals lounge. Buffy and Xander had promised to meet her and also that nobody else would come with them. All of them were aware of a need for the original Scooby gang to get their feelings sorted through first. Willow felt that her choice to remain in Sunnydale or return to England would rest on the next ten minutes and she was dreading her first sight of her two best friends.

Xander was anxiously scanning the thinning crowd. "Giles definitely made sure she was on the flight?" he asked for the third time.

Buffy smiled at him and stared at the gate leading from the flight. She spotted the redhead as soon as she cleared the final corner and tugged Xander's arm to get his attention. "She's here," she said quietly and immediately felt relief and worry wash over her. 

"Willow" Xander shouted and waved frantically, only stopping when Willow nervously waved back at him. "She looks OK," he said and glanced at Buffy for her reaction, "Doesn't she?"

"She looks fine Xander" she smiled as she realised that it was Willow she saw heading towards them and that their friend had returned.

Willow stopped a couple of feet away from them and nervously scanned their faces for any sign of fear. The moment passed and slowly she saw Buffy smile at her and knew that it was all going to be OK, not fine, not perfect, but OK.

Xander could hold himself in check no longer and pulled her into his arms. "I missed you" he mumbled into her hair.

"Breathing" Willow gasped as he continued to squeeze. "Thanks, Xan, I missed you too" she smiled as he released her. "Ooooofffff" was all she could manage when Buffy joined the group hug and pulled all three together with slayer strength.

"I've missed you so much Will" Buffy whispered in her friend's ear before letting them go and picking up her bag, "Come on we thought mochas were called for" she smiled and led the way to the car.

Xander followed with his arm still round Willows shoulders, as if afraid to let her go. "Yeah, we figured three month's of Giles' tea was enough to go without chocolately, sugary goodness"


	3. Chapter 3

Dawn sighed in as loud and dramatic a manner as possible. "I told you we had tried that one" she shook her head. "We're not dummies you know"

Willow smiled while her head was still lowered to the book but looked quite serious by the time she raised her eyes to the others. "I'm not suggesting you are Dawn but I just need to work through all of the possibilities myself to get to the right one" she smiled a little and looked back to the book in her lap. "For instance, although this isn't the same language it contains several similar cuniforms and may be a later version of the one we are looking for"

Anya leaned across the table and looked at the page Willow had her finger on "You may be right but I couldn't identify where that text came from either so we were right back at square one" She returned to her coffee and slouched in her seat. 

Dawn looked a little more disgruntled. "Giles would have this figured out by now and be buying us ice cream, why didn't he come back?"

Willow suppressed a sigh and, without looking up, said "He was busy looking for a counterspell to a particularly nasty curse that turned up in one of the Watcher enclaves and he thought we would be able to deal with this ourselves"

Dawn was about to make her own suggestions about this arrangement when Buffy caught her eye and shook her head slightly. Willow was aware of the byplay but ignored it as she did actually think she was near to solving the puzzle and was glad of the quiet that descended.

Half an hour later she yawned and stretched to get the kinks out of her shoulders and neck. "We should be able to sort this mess out tomorrow" she managed around another yawn.

"You got it?" Buffy asked and put her own book onto the table.

"Yep, it just took a couple more steps from this one" she indicated the book they had discussed earlier. "You guys would have got it yourselves in a couple of days" she suggested and smiled at Anya and Dawn.

Anya shook her head and began clearing up the empty coffee mugs. "I doubt it, we were down to choosing the book with the prettiest cover to get as far as we did"

"Hey" Dawn started to protest then let out an almighty yawn of her own.

Anya efficiently moved all of the excess books to the other table. "So how do we get rid of the critters?" she asked and moved over to prod Xander, who had fallen asleep an hour earlier.

"I'll need a few ingredients from your stock and then you'll need to leave Buffy and I alone in here for an hour or so" Willow suggested with a straight face. Buffy was the only one who saw the slight twinkle in her eye and struggled to keep a smile from her own face.

Anya stopped trying to wake Xander and turned to stare at Willow. "Are you mad?" she asked incredulously. "The last time that happened you demolished my shop and seriously undermined my earning potential for several months"

The increasing volume of her voice finally stirred Xander who looked up a little blearily. "What's up, guys?"

"Xander, tell Willow that she can't wreck the shop again" Anya pouted a little and put her hands on her hips.

"Willow you can't wreck the shop again," Xander said in a mock serious tone and moved to hug his ex-fiancé. He looked over her shoulder at Buffy and was relieved to see a smile winning the struggle to remain on her face. "Buffy, now you tell Willow not to wreck the shop again" he nodded at her and gently rubbed Anya's back.

Buffy crossed her arms and smiled at her best friend. "Willow, Anya says you're not allowed to wreck the shop again" 

Willow sighed and shook her head. "Anya," she said. "I need these ingredients and when I arrive with the extra stuff you will not want to be here, trust me on this"

Anya struggled from Xander's arms "Trust you?" she pointed at the redhead but looked at Buffy. "Have you all gone mad? She could be planning on taking over the world again and you're all laughing and bonding and�"

Willow couldn't keep a straight face any longer. "It's rabbits" she giggled and stood back as Anya jumped up onto a chair.

"Where?" she screeched and wrapped her arms around her body in self-protection. 

"The cure for the infestation is rabbits" Willow giggled and then took pity on the petrified shop-keeper. "Once I'd got the translation sorted out I realised the reason you were confused about the text was because it kept mentioning the bringers of doom but it meant the good guys, the ones who would bring doom to the bad guys" Realising that the explanation wasn't making anything much clearer to any of those around her she sat back down and waited until Dawn and Xander had helped Anya down from the chair. "The text was written in the wrong point of view � you have to read it as if you're one of the bad guys and then the "bringers of doom" thing makes sense as the solution to the problem and not the cause"

Buffy struggled to follow this explanation. "You mean that we bring a few dozen rab.." she stopped as she saw the hysteria mount in Anya again. "A couple of those things in here and they will take care of the nasties in the basement?" she shook her head. "They may be small but those bugs really burrow under your skin and the paranoia toxin stuff hits pretty quickly"

Willow nodded. "I know, which is pretty clever if you think about it" she smiled at the genius of the cunning plan but realised that the others were less than impressed. "I mean in a really evil and dastardly way" she stood up to stretch a little and moved towards the counter. "The thing is they have been conditioned to activate themselves in the presence of humans and then to release the poison"

Xander raised his hand, as if back in class. "Doesn't that mean that dead boy could go down there and use a giant can of Raid?" He looked around as if expecting a round of applause at his insight.

"Not quite Xan" Willow said apologetically. "But good guess" she smiled at him and then turned to the others. "The bugs would still detect the remaining human host body of Spike and I don't think having a paranoid vampire is the way we want to go" 

"You still haven't explained why you're bringing the fluffy demon-spawn into my shop" Anya complained and moved to stand, protectively, next to the cash register. 

Willow grinned and almost started to bounce in her excitement. "That's the really cool part" she began, completely ignoring Anya's continuing look of horror. "The text describes several of the animals used previously to destroy the bugs and, as far as I can make out, two of the species are extinct, one is very rare and only held in captivity and the other is.. "

Buffy held up her hand to stop the young witch. "We know what it is Will" she smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure Willow will make sure that all of the solution-bringers are cleared out of the premises once they've finished the job" she explained to Anya and saw the blonde relax a little. "So how do they get the job done?" she asked

"That's why I need some ingredients" Willow nodded. "We have to magically fool the bugs into thinking that they are facing an all you can eat buffet of human-ness. Then we sit back and allow the naturally occurring antibodies in the" she paused and looked towards Anya "things" she said deliberately "to work their own magic and bring on the doom to the bad guys"

"Xander will have to check the building from top to bottom before I'll come back in here" Anya sighed and then started to count the money from the day's trading.

"Of course I will An" he suggested and shrugged his shoulders to the others. "We'll all check the place out once Willow's worked the mojo"

He motioned the others back to the large table. "She'll calm down a bit now that she can count the money but I guess you guys should call it a night and I'll see her home"

"At last" Dawn mumbled and grabbed her bag, heading for the door. "Now Willow's solved this is she going to buy the ice cream?"

Willow looked a little surprised and glanced towards Buffy for guidance. The young girl had been a little frosty around Willow since her return a couple of days ago and Willow had feared that their relationship would never return to their previously easy-going history. Buffy shrugged, as mystified as her friend at her sister's sudden thawing towards her. "I guess so," Willow said a little hesitantly and followed the two sisters out of the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy unwound the protective wrapping on her hands and slowly rotated her shoulders to relax. The punch bag was still swinging and she put her hand out to stop it before heading for the front of the shop. 

"Hey guys," she said as she finished drinking from her water bottle. "What's the skinny?"

"Nothing" Xander murmured and returned to reading his comic book. 

Dawn looked up from her homework. "I got algebra, other than that, zip," she said and returned to her books.

Willow smiled at both of them and indicated that Buffy should take the remaining seat next to her. "I'm writing to Giles to let him know that the Hellmouth has been particularly quiet for the last couple of weeks, to see if he has heard of any big, brewing evil"

Buffy leaned over to read the letter in front of her friend. "And he needs to know you're glad to be showering alone because?" she asked humorously and watched as the redhead flushed and quickly covered over the rest of the letter.

"It's just an English joke" she muttered and prayed that the others would let it go.

Xander looked at her in astonishment. "Who did you shower with while you were over there?" he asked then clasped his hand to his mouth. After several seconds of stunned silence, he finally removed his hand and waved it in the air. "Forget I asked that I so don't need to hear about slippery when wet Giles"

"Xander!" Willow shouted in outrage and looked towards Buffy for assistance. Buffy just continued to stare at Willow with a look of deep concentration on her face. 

"What makes you think it was a man?" Dawn asked Xander, with a completely straight face.

"Dawn!" Willow shouted, even more concerned at this turn in the conversation. 

"Dawn, pack up your homework, I think it's time I took you home" Buffy smiled and leaned closer to Willow. "You and I are going to talk later tonight" she whispered and then moved to the doorway. "Xander, could you give Dawn and I a lift?"

The young man was sitting with a shocked look on his face. He had initially succeeded in removing an image of Willow and Giles in a shower from his mind, but the image of Willow and another woman in a shower was taking much longer to evaporate. He was finally brought back to the present when Willow punched his arm. 

"You had better get home and clean out that dirty mind of yours Xander Harris" she suggested and kept eye contact with him as he rose and followed the others out of the shop.

Willow sighed in relief at being let off the hook and had uncovered and returned to her letter when Anya suddenly appeared behind her.

"The mind connection was still there, wasn't it?" she asked and then sat down in Buffy's recently vacated seat. "When you got to the coven, you and Giles could still see what the other saw?"

Willow cursed herself for forgetting Anya and the extremely silent nature of the ex-demon's footwear. She considered lying to her but realised that Anya wouldn't stop and the thought of this conversation lasting for days was more than Willow could bear. "It lasted for about two weeks" she admitted in a quiet voice, her eyes still on the letter.

"I didn't tell anyone else," Anya said quietly and waited for the Witch to meet her steady gaze. "After you both left we were all pretty busy with the clearing up and then everyone sort of dealt with their own pain. After a couple of weeks, the day was never mentioned again and I never told anyone that Giles could see and feel what you were doing" Anya explained.

"Why?" Willow asked.

"Nobody asked how I was doing or made sure I was OK" Anya explained quietly and then smiled a little as she looked at Willow. "The others were all busy bonding again and dealing with their `issues' and I was just left to get on with it" Willow made to interrupt but Anya placed her hand on the girl's arm to stop her. "I stayed with him after you and Buffy left and I thought he had died" 

Willow looked at her in shock and suddenly felt sick. "I didn't know" she whispered.

"I know" Anya replied. "I `ported over to Buffy and Dawn and told them where you were and that he was really bad, then I came back here and stayed with him. He told me he was dying and then passed out for a while" Anya stood up and straightened out some books on the nearby shelf. "He came back around and said that Xander had managed to stop you but I was just so happy to see him still alive that I didn't care what you had done. After a little while, I helped him out of the shop and he met up with you at Kingsmans Bluff before you both teleported back to England"

Willow wiped her eyes, trying not to give in to the urge to sob. "I don't really remember much after I took his power," she said quietly and took a deep breath. "It really overloaded me and I didn't really come back to full awareness until I had been in England for a couple of days. The coven had been slowly removing his power from me and it was only when I was able to think straight again that I realised our connection was still there"

Anya nodded and sat down at the opposite side of the table. 

Willow wiped her eyes once more. "Giles said that it had originally been a two-way link but I don't remember seeing through his eyes and I've never been able to since then, but he couldn't switch the connection off from his end for a couple of weeks and�" she paused.

"And he was your back scrub buddy?" Anya asked and smiled a little.

Willow sighed and gathered herself. "At first I tried to shower with my eyes closed but you only need to drop the soap once and that's not going to work. Eventually, he managed to cut that part of the connection and I was able to get clean without the trauma"

"Didn't you miss him?" Anya asked with the brutal quest for the truth that only she could bring to bear.

Willow blushed again and put her head in her hands. "The connection was never completely broken, just the visuals" she admitted and then looked up at a slightly surprised shopkeeper. "We were still able to sense each other's emotional state right up until I got on the plane to return. And yes, I do miss him inside my head and by my side every minute of every day but I will deny it if you ever tell anyone else"

Anya gazed at the determined young woman and sensed a build-up of power around her. She held up her hands and stood, backing away from the table. "I've kept it a secret this far, you don't have to worry about me but I think Buffy is starting to get suspicious"


	5. Chapter 5

Buffy put the mug of hot chocolate down in front of Willow and then sank into the armchair across from her. "Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to read your private letter" she kept eye contact with her friend over the rim of her mug.

Willow sighed and realised she felt relief that Buffy had finally brought the topic up. She decided to tell her an abridged version of the truth in an attempt to placate her friend and head off any further questions. "When I took Giles' power in the shop that day it initiated some kind of mental link between us" she started quietly and saw Buffy lean forward slightly in her chair to catch her words. "He was able to keep track of what I was doing and that was how Xander knew where to find me" Willow paused, took a sip of her drink and let a small sigh escape her. "When we teleported back to the coven it became obvious fairly early on that the link was still there and he was able to see what I was seeing for a couple of weeks" Willow felt herself blush as she watched Buffy desperately trying to subdue her laughter. "As soon as he realised what was happening we were able to take... ehm� precautions but it was a bit tedious for a while"

Buffy finally gave up her fight and put her mug down on the table as she laughed. After a few seconds, she realised how embarrassed Willow was and sat forward to put her hand on her friend's knee. "I'm sorry but I was just imagining his reaction when he realised what was happening. I've seen his face when we talk about nakedness and it must have been priceless when he was actually tuning in on cable"

Willow smiled a little. "I have to admit I never thought of that. At the time I was too busy with the ranting and raving and finding of extremely baggy sweaters to wear"

"In the shower?" Buffy asked in wonder and then started giggling again. 

"No" Willow finally gave into the infectious sniggering and joined in. "We made alternative arrangements for "naked time" until he was able to sever the link"

Buffy shook her head but gave Willow a break by changing the direction of the conversation. "How was he when you left him?" she asked quietly and returned to snuggling in the chair with her drink.

Willow looked a little distant as she pictured the last time she had seen him. "His wounds are mostly healed, although he still gets a niggling pain in his side from a couple of ribs broken once too often and the scar from the spear" She watched Buffy scrunch her forehead at the memory of his injury before continuing. "Other than that he was back to normal Giles" Willow paused and put her head to the side a little. "Although I don't suppose it was him who was abnormal was it?"

Buffy sighed and shook her head gently "I think that we were all a long way from normal for those two days. We all said and did things that we would probably love to take back but they are over and done with and we need to move on"

Willow stared at her for several moments before shrugging her shoulders, as if to release some tension. "I'm not going to argue that my `bads' were worse than yours but I do know what I did and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for some of it with the sure and certain knowledge that some of it can never be repaired"

Buffy nodded slightly and decided that the conversation that they needed to have was now done with. "So, you weren't able to get any Giles peeks?" she asked mischievously and ducked the cushion that Willow threw at her.


	6. Chapter 6

Xander flipped the pages of the local newspaper as he worked his way through a giant bowl of cereal. An article caught his attention and he became quiet as the others continued their morning rituals around him.

"Xander, do you need to stand right there?" asked an exasperated Willow as she stretched around him for the third time to gather breakfast items.

"Hmm?" he murmured and continued to read the paper. 

Buffy smacked him on the butt with a spatula as she passed him on her way to the fridge. "The comics aren't usually that engrossing," she said as he glared at her.

"I'm doing some research!" he replied indignantly and returned to the paper, completely oblivious to the laughter around him. When he had finished the article he finally tuned back into his surroundings and found all three women staring at him in disbelief. "What?" he asked and moved to put his empty bowl in the sink. "Read this" he instructed Willow, pointing out the article and taking over scrambled egg duty at the cooker.

Willow shook her head at him and moved the paper to the dining table to read it. After a few minutes, she returned to the kitchen. "That is kinda weird Xan but I'm not sure it's Hellmouth induced evilness?" She handed the paper to Buffy and helped carry plates to the dining room.

Buffy and Dawn read the article together then joined the others in attacking the large pile of breakfast foods. Xander was the first to speak. "I just thought, since we were kind of quiet that we should maybe take a look at the wrinkly weirdness"

Buffy nodded in agreement. "He's right Will, after all, we have been pretty quiet for the last few weeks and a bit of good, old fashioned snooping will do us all good"

Dawn bounced in her seat. "Ooohh, do I get to wear a trilby and trenchcoat?"

Xander joined in her enthusiastic bouncing. "Great idea, we could have code names and two-way radios to keep in touch"

Willow shook her head. "Xander, we're checking out some senior citizens at a nursing home, not exactly Mission Impossible territory" Buffy started to agree with her when Xander and Dawn left the table, their heads together and whispering in conspiratorial tones about picking locks.

Several hours later the four friends were standing outside a residential nursing home arguing. "Let's just stick to the story we agreed on" Buffy hissed at Dawn. "If we start getting complicated then one of us will slip up and we'll end up being thrown out without learning anything" Dawn had a look of partially quelled rebellion on her face but nodded in agreement. Buffy nodded back at her and turned to Willow "OK, you and Xander are good to go, remember the signal?"

Willow nodded and headed towards the front door, Xander hurried after her. When she arrived at the entrance she buzzed and waited for the answering voice. "Hi, we phoned earlier" she shouted into the small grille. "We're from Parapsychology Monthly and we'd like to interview some of your residents" Willow smiled encouragingly at an obviously nervous Xander as the door buzzed and they entered. 

Xander was a little nervous but in truth, he was in awe of his friend. It had only taken two hours to prepare their back story as reporters with the ghost-hunting magazine, including hacking into the magazine's files to send confirmation emails and some very complimentary resumes for both of them to the residential home. They had then taken another hour to agree on their approach and change into some suitable `professional reporter' type clothes. All of this achieved the old fashioned way, without any magical interference whatsoever and he was so proud of her. He just didn't know the best way to express these feelings yet so he concentrated on the task at hand as a tall, thin woman in uniform met them in the foyer.

Willow extended her hand "Mrs. Wayne?" 

"Mrs. Rosenberg and Mr. Harris?" the woman asked as she shook hands with both of them.

"Ms. Rosenberg" Willow corrected her but smiled to take the sting out of it. "Thank you for agreeing to see us at such short notice, but we're flying back to the east coast tonight and are very keen to talk to your residents"

"They are quite excited to meet you" Mrs. Wayne explained and led them to a small room with several comfortable chairs. "When I told them of your interest they postponed their afternoon card game"

All three settled down into well-stuffed chairs and Xander removed a notebook from his jacket pocket. "If we could just get some background from you before we meet the others" he smiled at her and prepared to take notes.

The woman took a moment to collect her thoughts before directing her answer to Xander. "It all started a couple of months ago when some of the residents complained of disturbing noises during the night, moaning and crying that sort of thing" 

"Moaning and crying" Xander mumbled as he pretended to write this down in his notebook, nodding encouragingly.

"The staff on duty at the time reported nothing unusual and we soon narrowed it down to one corridor where the people were hearing things. After several nights I stayed on duty myself and sat with one elderly lady who was particularly frightened by the whole experience until she fell asleep" Mrs. Wayne took a breath as she remembered the night in question. "At about two in the morning she buzzed the front desk and I went to see what was wrong. When I got to her room she was huddled in a corner with her hands over her ears"

"Was the room cold?" Willow asked quietly, not wishing to disrupt the woman's tale but trying to get the information as it occurred to her.

"It was very cold but the thermostat was turned up high and we just assumed there was a problem with the heating" Mrs. Wayne returned her attention to Xander.

"Huddled in a corner.." Xander prompted her.

"She was convinced that there were loud screams all around her but I didn't hear anything"

Ten minutes later the tale had been related several times over, with small variations, concerning several residents and one area of the home in particular. The residents would be woken in the night by terrible screams of anguish, the rooms would be freezing cold and the shock engendered by these occurrences would last for several days. Once they had recovered somewhat, all of those who had experienced the ordeal reported a feeling of absolute terror and the certain knowledge of their imminent death.

While Mrs. Wayne went to fetch some of the residents who had been affected, Willow sent a quick text message to Buffy and was deep in conversation with Xander over his notebook when four people arrived at the room. Two men and two women hovered nervously near the door and Willow smiled and extended her hand to the first man. "Hi, I'm Willow and this is Xander and we're here to see if we can help"

The man automatically shook her hand and Xander's before turning and introducing his friends. "I'm Mike and this is Ernie, Sheila, and Kate" he moved further into the room to allow the others to enter and they all took a few seconds to find chairs and settle down. 

Mrs. Wayne returned a moment later and motioned to Willow, who stepped outside the room with her. "I'm sorry but I have some prospective clients who want to see our facilities before deciding on a place for their father, can you manage without me for a while?" she asked anxiously, looking over her shoulder at two young women who were standing outside her office door.

Willow glanced at them without allowing a trace of recognition and put her hand on the nurse's arm in reassurance. "We'll be fine, if we need anything else we'll be sure to ask"

Mrs. Wayne smiled her thanks and headed towards the women. "Now ladies, how much nursing care would your father require?" she asked.

Willow could hardly hide her smile when she heard Dawn reply "He's completely incontinent and can't do anything for himself" She almost felt sorry for Hank and wondered how he would ever manage if he needed to call on either of his daughters in his later years. 

Xander was deep in conversation with the two older women when she returned to the room. "So you're convinced it was a woman screaming that you heard?" he asked and they both nodded vigorously.

"Nonsense" Mike declared and turned to Ernie for support. "It was too deep for a woman's voice, it was definitely a male" 

Willow sat down opposite the men and gathered their attention while the two women returned to regaling Xander with tales of their ordeal. "Was it just screaming or could you make out any words?" she asked and flipped open her own notebook.

Ernie scratched his head and closed his eyes in an effort to remember. "I think I could hear someone in the background shouting at people to get out while they could" he looked at Mike.

His friend nodded "Yeah, I remember thinking it sounded a bit like they were quite far away, maybe at the other end of a big hall or something and the guy who was screaming was standing right next to me"

Willow took them both through their stories a couple of times, noting down the salient points. They were able to pinpoint dates of the occurrences because they had started the day after Ernie's 72nd birthday and each man had experienced the event twice, although on separate nights.

When they had exhausted the questions they could reasonably ask, Xander tapped Willow's arm and pointed to his watch. She looked at her own and sighed. "I'm sorry but we really need to catch our flight tonight. We'll review our notes and perhaps give you a call in a couple of days if there's anything else we need to ask?"

Xander helped the women out of their seats and Willow held the door open for them. "You're such a nice young couple" sighed Sheila. "Are you stepping out together?"

Xander looked slightly panicked as they hadn't rehearsed this as part of their disguise, however, Willow just laughed a little as she stuffed her notebook back into her handbag. "A long time ago, but now we're just friends and colleagues"


	7. Chapter 7

Willow and Xander walked to the car and turned to wave at Mike and Kate as they stood watching them from the front entrance. "We should probably drive around the block and wait for Buffy and Dawn" Xander suggested.

They only had to wait for about five minutes before the two girls arrived at the back doors and jumped into the car, giggling. "You are terrible" Dawn sighed and leaned forward to tell the others. "She told them that dad was a sixty-year-old ex-convict who needed to be kept under observation in case he started stealing women's underwear again"

Xander and Willow stared aghast at Buffy who shrugged and tried to look innocent. "Hey, I've never denied I had issues with him. And it's not as if he'll ever come back here to retire anyway"

Willow raised an eyebrow at Buffy "And you thought I was vindictive and out for revenge?"

After a quick stop for groceries, they all returned home to go over their notes. "It just seems like they are picking up psychic vibrations from something that happened many years ago" Willow suggested. "It could be that the land used for the residential home was originally something more sinister"

"Color me surprised" Buffy smiled. "But you guys have most of the historical data on file?"

Xander nodded and raised his hand, finishing his mouthful of pizza before answering. "Willow and I scanned all of the street plans and building blueprints a couple of years ago so we should be able to track it down pretty easily"

"Go, team!" Dawn smiled at all of them. "I love it when we can find and sort the easy ones"

"I don't know" Willow shook her head. "I just can't really seem to get any enthusiasm up for much less than an apocalypse these days"

Buffy smiled at her friend and started to clear empty pizza boxes from the dining table. "I would have thought that three months in England would have gotten you used to the quiet life Will?"

"Not really" she smiled back and handed round some drinks. "Mostly I miss the changes in weather, all this sunshine kind of gets to you eventually"

"Now you even sound like Giles!" Xander pointed at her. "Did he brainwash you with his wicked English ways?"

"Xander, do shut up," she said in an almost perfect imitation of Giles' world-weary tone of voice.

"Dawn, please start the video before we're all channeling Giles" Buffy suggested and slumped into the chair while Willow and Xander were still arguing about the weather.

The next morning Xander arrived early to go over the town plans with Willow. 

"Buffy's sleeping in, she said to give her a call about 10 if she isn't up" Dawn shouted as she left for school.

"Looks like it's just you and me kid," Xander said in an awful Bogart impersonation.

"Now who's acting like Giles?" Willow asked and smiled at his astonished look. "Even he would have used a Bogart pop culture reference" she smiled even more sweetly and took the coffee mug that he offered her.

"I think I've taken over the `old man of the group' role since he left" Xander mumbled and sat down next to her to stare at the laptop. 

"I miss him too" Willow patted his hand and quickly found the folder containing the scanned street maps and building plans. "Okey dokey, I think I can overlay the existing street map with earlier ones to try and get the best orientation"

Xander smiled as he saw her tongue peeping out from the corner of her mouth as she manipulated the data on the screen. He turned his attention to the laptop and watched as they went back over the various generations of street map. The strange thing was that, before the residential home, this area had been left empty for two hundred years. "But it's right in the middle of a residential zone" Xander mumbled.

Willow shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we were right that something weird happened and people just didn't want to build there while they remembered it" She opened another file and smiled slightly. "I think we've got something this time �look" and she pointed at the screen.

"That's an old plan?" he asked and waited for her nod before checking the screen again. "It looks like the exact same building floor plan, same size and orientation and everything"

"Maybe they had a nursing home in�" she checked the id at the bottom of the screen. "1792?" Willow turned to gauge his reaction to this and shook her head as well. "OK, not much chance of that is there �perhaps we should try to find out what this building was used for?"

Xander looked at the screen for a few more seconds then sighed. "Don't tell me, we need to check out the records archived at City Hall?"

Willow smiled at him as she shut down the laptop and stood up to take their mugs to the kitchen. "You get started and I'll wake Buffy and meet you there?"

Willow heard him shut the front door as she headed for the kitchen. She spent a few minutes clearing up the breakfast dishes and tidying things away. It wasn't until Buffy coughed to get her attention several minutes later that she realised she was standing staring at the pan Tara had used to make pancakes. She had been a million miles away, thinking of the last time they had made breakfast together, she smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of food burning as they had kissed instead of flipping the pancakes over.

"Hey Will, you okay?" Buffy asked quietly as she poured herself some juice.

"Yeah, it's just��" Willow paused to gather her thoughts. "Memories come from the strangest things don't they?"

"Oven mitts" Buffy sighed and sat down at the counter. 

"Oven mitts?" Willow asked her as she sat down next to her.

"Yeah" Buffy nodded. "After Mom died I was in a bit of a zombie thing for a while" Willow looked skeptically at her friend. "Not a real zombie thing, just out of it you know?" Willow nodded her understanding. "Well a couple of weeks later and the whole Glory thing was really taking over and I thought I was kind of over the worst when I came home one night and went to cook something for Dawn and me� I picked up the oven mitts and, suddenly, Mom was standing right next to me and telling me to be careful of the hot stuff" Buffy remained quiet for a moment or two then took a deep breath. "After about twenty minutes of sitting in that corner sobbing, I finally managed to pull myself together but I'll always think of her when I use those damn oven mitts"

Willow put her arms around her friend and hugged her. "Thanks" she whispered into the blonde hair.

"This is usually when Xander asks if he can join in" Buffy smiled as she sat back from Willow. "Where is he anyway?"

"Oh" Willow suddenly remembered the results of their research. "He's gone down to City Hall to find some old records. The last building we can find before the residential home was in 1792"

"That's strange" Buffy agreed. "What was it, a prison or something?"

"Not sure, but I said we'd meet Xander and help him check the records" Willow used her best beseeching look. "I was supposed to come and waken you to ask if you wanted to join us before I got waylaid by cookware"

"Give me five minutes to change into something more suitable for getting dusty and bored in" Buffy smiled at her and headed upstairs.

They picked up coffees on the way and smuggled them past the records clerk. Xander grumbled a little about being left on his own for so long but the caffeine bribery worked its magic and soon all three were trawling through a large pile of papers to find the deeds for the property.

"I think this is it," Willow said quietly after about an hour. The others slowly flexed tired backs and necks while waiting for her to finish reading the paper in front of her. "It seems to have been a house of worship of some kind," she said finally and wrinkled her brow.

"A church?" Buffy asked as she stood and walked round to look over Willow's shoulder at the manuscript.

"Not really, it doesn't seem to have been used by any recognised religion but some sort of sect" Willow pointed out some parts of the text and stood up to stretch herself as Buffy took her seat and began studying the document.

"So these guys worshipped some scaly demon and it ate them?" Xander said. "That seems kind of obvious for Sunnydale, doesn't it?" he seemed almost disappointed at the anti-climax.

"We'll take the details and do some more research on the laptop" Willow sighed. "Maybe we've just seen everything that the Hellmouth had and now it's on repeat?"


	8. Chapter 8

Dawn returned from school to find two of the three supposed adults of the house taking part in a heated argument. 

"There is no way they could ever make a live action movie of Scooby Doo!" Xander proclaimed.

"Who made you the expert?" Buffy asked as she pointed at Willow's laptop. "Will could probably put together good enough special effects on her laptop without too much effort � why wouldn't a studio be able to do any better?"

"Hey, trying to work here" Willow reminded them as she looked up to see Dawn. "Hey, Dawnie how was school?"

Dawn sat down next to her and tried to ignore the other two's continuing argument. "OK, I guess, what's that all about?" she asked as Xander stood up to pace.

Willow smiled a little and returned to study the screen in front of her. "They were getting bored and when I went to the bathroom they surfed for upcoming movie projects and, well, it kind of went downhill from there. By the time I came back down they were deep into arguments of subtext and I was barely able to wrestle the laptop back from them" 

Xander delivered what he felt to be the coup de grace of his argument. "Anyway, you're a girl and you wouldn't have any idea about the importance of staying true to the original vision" Unsurprisingly, this was met by a stunned silence from his three, female companions. He quickly realised the error of his ways as he shuffled towards the door. "Now that we've sorted that out I should go and help Anya at the shop"

Dawn stared at Buffy as she heard the door click shut. "You're going to let him get away with that?" she asked in a stunned voice.

Buffy just turned and smiled at her. "Nope, he's now going to have to pay to take us all to see the movie when it comes out and spring for super-sized popcorn and drinks"

Willow shook her head. "You would think he would know better by now"

Buffy smiled at her then turned back to Dawn. "Hey sister of mine, any homework?"

Dawn sighed and pulled her books out of her bag. "Some French that I should manage OK but I could do with some help from Willow with my science project" she looked pleadingly towards her target. "It should only take half an hour or so"

Buffy snorted. "Once you get Will started on science stuff it takes her half an hour just to sort out her coloured pens"

"Hey" Willow huffed at her "Sitting right here you know" She turned to the younger girl. "Can you give me twenty minutes to finish up with this then I can give you my undivided attention?"

"No problem" Dawn smiled and craned to look at the screen. "Is this about the `golden ghosts'?" she asked.

"Yep," Buffy replied and settled back into her chair looking a little guilty. "We were all tracking down a strange sect that was the last one to build on the land before the home was put up"

Willow typed a few more words before looking up again. "We found out that the previous building was knocked down sometime between 1792 and 1830 because the land was vacant from that time until about fifteen years ago when the home was put up in exactly the same place" 

Dawn nodded and glanced at some of the text as it scrolled onto the screen. "Isn't that a bit strange for a piece of land in the middle of town?" she checked the other's faces to see if she was right in her assumption.

"Exactly" Willow smiled at her perception. "We checked the title deeds and tracked down the previous owners as some kind of religious sect and now we're searching to find out everything we can about them to see what was so terrible that the land was unused for such a long time"

Dawn looked up at Buffy. "So you and Xander were just providing the light relief to stop Willow from getting bored during the tedious searching and finding of information?"

"Hey" Buffy replied in her best huffy voice. "We were totally team-searching right up until Xander and I needed to debate the other topic" she put on her `Buffy knows best' face. "And I seem to remember someone mentioning French homework?"

Dawn sighed, moved her chair back around the table and started leafing through one of her textbooks.

Willow shook her head and saved some more information to a growing file on the activities and members of the Guilen sect. Once she had collated the last pieces into some sort of chronological order she prepared the email to send the information to Giles. Although she had been able to find out a surprising amount in the short time she had been looking, she was a little confused by the content of many of the reports of the sect activities. They seemed to have been well respected by those who came across them and generally welcomed into communities. It was not uncommon for demons to be welcomed with open arms by their intended victims but she couldn't find any records of burning villages or terrible tragedies following their arrival. It almost seemed as if they were peace-loving, well-meaning, useful members of society. 

Although this was a little unusual in itself, Willow very rarely found herself researching the good guys, it made the sect's sudden and complete disappearance from all of their communities at practically the same time seem even more unusual. She had decided that Giles may be able to either get his hands on more information concerning the destruction of the sect or he would know where else she could look.

Dawn was quietly working on her homework, occasionally mumbling French verb conjugations under her breath and Buffy had gone into the basement to check on the laundry situation. Neither of them was aware of Willow's soppy smile as she brought up his email address or the slight blush that rose to her cheeks as she typed his name at the beginning of the message.

Giles had a similar soppy smile when he checked his emails later that day. He would never admit it to anyone but he was very glad that he had thought to bring his laptop to the Watcher's Compound as he didn't have to rely on the Royal Mail to track him down to deliver Willow's missives. There was something special in receiving a proper, handwritten letter once a week but he admitted to himself that he was a bit of a Willow junky and had become used to her particular style of rambling every day. It amazed him that she could replicate her vocal meanderings so completely in the electronic format and he chuckled as he read her, no doubt, wickedly accurate report of the recent Buffy/Xander movie debacle. 

Once Willow had finished the personal news she moved into a brisker tone for the business part of the communication. Concisely she laid out the problem they had encountered and the information they had found so far. Then she detailed what her thinking on the problem was and asked for his advice on where they should turn next and whether he agreed with her judgment. Giles shook his head and reached for his coffee as he picked up her uncertainty and insecurity despite the medium. "Willow" he mumbled to himself as he prepared to compose his answer. "When will you ever trust yourself and the knowledge that you have?" He began typing his opinion on the particular circumstances they were currently facing, suggesting various areas for research and a few local contacts that may prove useful. After half an hour or so he stretched and consciously slipped into non-watcher, friend mode to bring her up to date with the friends she had made at the coven and ask her for more details on his Sunnydale family. When he had finished and checked the entire document for spelling, he never trusted spell-checkers, he glanced at his watch and quickly made the appropriate calculations to guess what she would be doing right now. Hitting the send button he hoped she would check her mail first thing in `her' morning. It was one of the major benefits of electronic information sharing that they could send and receive answers in real time, not replacing the magic of face to face communication but numbing the pain of separation a little.

Willow yawned and mumbled "mornin" to Buffy when they passed in the hallway the next morning. Buffy had insisted that she stay with them on her return "Where are you going to go, your parents? We are more of a family to you than they ever were and we've all missed you too much to put up with you not being here any longer" she had stated matter of factly and grabbed two of Willow's suitcases from the car. 

Xander carried the other suitcase and several plastic bags filled with gifts for all of them. "What I want to know is how someone who teleported to England with only the clothes she stood up in, manages to bring this much luggage back with her three months later"

Willow had giggled a little. "I had to buy some stuff while I was there and the coven arranged the uplift of some of my things when they got my passport"

Now, three months later and she felt as if she had never left the house. She had insisted that she have her old room back despite Buffy and Dawn both offering to swap. The first few nights had been difficult but there were so many happy memories that they had crowded out the atrocities. Her training at the coven allowed her to meditate and she could still feel the peace generated by Tara in the room with her. 

While getting dressed she automatically checked her mailbox and was delighted to see a reply from Giles waiting for her. Without realising it, she mimicked his actions in checking the time difference and sat down to try and catch him still online.

The laptop's soft tone indicated an incoming message and Giles smiled to himself as he put down the large book he had been reading and flexed his fingers in preparation. 

"Thanks for the local contacts, we'll make a start on some of them today. Are you still around?" he read and quickly pressed the reply button.

"Of course, I was hoping you would get back to me today. Are Buffy and Xander over their difference of opinion?" he typed and could almost hear her small giggle as she read it.

"Not sure, Xander's got to go to work today so we won't see him till dinner time. They usually get over these once he admits Buffy was right!" Willow smiled to herself. "How is the weather over there? You won't be surprised to hear it's sunny here!"

Giles nodded his agreement at her assessment of Xander's chances of ever winning an argument with Buffy. "It was raining a little earlier today but brightened up in the afternoon and everything was fresh and clean looking the last time I was outside. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the final piece of research for averting the outcome of the prophecy I told you about. The counterspell is quite tricky and I want to be sure I know everything about it before I let anyone undertake it. If it works though, I could be free of my obligations here in about a week" He hadn't meant to admit the last piece of news to her yet but he realised, with a shock, that he was actually getting excited at the prospect of seeing them all again. "Perhaps, if you weren't all too busy, you wouldn't mind a visit from an old friend?"

Willow "eeped" loudly enough for Buffy to hear as she passed the bedroom door. "You OK Will?" she asked and nudged the door open a little wider. She saw Willow sitting with a huge smile on her face, staring at the screen in front of her.

The young woman finally picked up Buffy's question and jumped out of her seat to hop excitedly in front of her. "Giles is coming to visit" she practically shouted and clapped her hands.

"When?" Dawn asked, just as excited, from the doorway.

"In a week or so" Willow smiled at Dawn and then realised Buffy hadn't responded yet. "Aren't you excited?" she asked the slayer.

"Yeah, that's great news Willow" Buffy replied, obviously preoccupied.

Dawn and Willow decided to ignore her and do an impromptu dance of joy in the hallway. This lasted for a couple of minutes until Willow suddenly shouted "Giles" and headed back to the bedroom at speed.

"What?" asked Dawn and followed her, looking over her shoulder to see the screen. "Oh, is he online now? Can I talk to him?" the youngster asked.

"Give me a minute" Willow smiled apologetically. "I haven't replied to his last message, he must think I'm ignoring him"

Giles was getting a little worried. He had checked that his connection was still working by accessing some internet sites and then had made sure he was looking in the right place. He had now completely run out of troubleshooting ideas to explain her lack of response and had just convinced himself that she was trying to word a rejection to his suggestion when her answer appeared. "OK, just read it you silly old fool and then you'll know what she wants" he mumbled to himself as his fingers hesitated over opening the mail in case she had asked him not to come. 

"Sorrrreeeeeee! But Buffy and Dawn just came in and I gave them the great news and then we were celebrating and dancing and hugging and I forgot you were waiting for an answer and you must have been thinking all sorts of terrible things because I hadn't replied, but I hope you spent some of the time thinking it was a technical booboo and not that we don't want you here, because obviously we are soooooo excited over you coming home and you can have my room and I'll bunk with Buffy and I can't wait to tell Xander, he really misses you and Anya will be delighted to show you all of the improvements she's made to the shop and perhaps we could have a party to celebrate and invite everyone��" 

The message ended abruptly and he finally took a deep breath. He was exhausted just reading through the stream of consciousness that was an excited Willow. "Willow remember to breathe!" he sent and waited for her reply. Several seconds later he realised he was holding his own breath and sighed, shaking his head. He stood to get himself a whiskey and told himself to calm down when he heard the tone indicating a reply.

"Giles, it's me, Dawn" he read and smiled tenderly. "Buffy had to drag Willow away from the keyboard and make her have some tea. She'll be fine once she stops hyperventilating. It's great news that you are coming home and we are all really looking forward to seeing you again. I don't know if Buffy told you but they have reopened the school again and it would be neat if I could show you around and point out the classes I'm in and stuff. But if you didn't want to spend time doing that it would be OK too, cause I know that you will be busy with some big bad or other but it will just be nice to see you no matter what brings you back"

He winced at the assumption that the only reason he would be visiting was a `business' one and tried to remember a time when he hadn't been protecting Dawn or trying desperately not to be her father. He decided to take a new tack with her. "Dawn, I'm glad you are there and I trust that Willow has calmed down a little? Perhaps a camomile tea would be best for her. I would love to spend time with you, but it might be a bit of a busman's holiday for you to show me the school. If you could face being seen out with an old man, perhaps we could go to a movie together or something similar? I'll let you decide what our itinerary will be. Perhaps I was a little remiss in my original message to Willow but I am looking at my impending visit as a holiday from work and would be seriously put out if I had to deal with even a tiny bad while I was there. I should be able to stay for a month or so and will hopefully have time to see all of you. Please tell Buffy that I'll stay at a hotel as I don't want to disrupt your household arrangements"

Dawn was now bouncing and twittering excitedly and Buffy shook her head at the delight on her sister's face. Willow was sitting on the bed looking a little sheepishly at her friend as she sipped at a cup of hot tea. "Do you want to send him a message?" Dawn asked her sister and stood up to take her place next to Willow on the bed. "A whole month, isn't that great?" she asked of nobody in particular.

Buffy sat in front of the keyboard and stared at his last message. She had missed him terribly and the last time they had been together she had left him to what she imagined was certain death. She was glad that he was returning simply for personal reasons but found conflicting emotions warring within her, if he came home for a short visit then she would have to say goodbye to him again and that only ever got harder every time she did it. 

Although, she corrected herself, the last three times he had left they had never had the chance to say goodbye and she realised that this was causing her more pain than she had ever admitted to herself before. It wasn't all his fault, of course, she had died the first time and she was sure that he had said his goodbyes at her graveside, but she was nevertheless scared to get used to having him around again when she knew that it would inevitably end. 

She noticed that the other two were staring at her, wondering at the delay in her sending a message to him. Pulling herself together she carefully typed her reply. "Glad to hear about your visit, I think the whole street now knows if Dawn and Willow's screams are anything to go by! Dawn is now off planning your entire trip, be warned that the mall will play a large part in this! Of course, you can stay with us, we need to maximise our Giles-time if you are only going to be here for one month and will probably have to fight Xander for the right to house you. Let us know what flight you are on and we will meet you unless you are planning on making another, ticket-free, dramatic entrance? Love B, W&D"

He smiled at the last and quickly typed a reply. "Thank you for the offer, we can decide sleeping arrangements once I am there? I wouldn't mind going to the mall � even shoe shopping! It will be nice just to spend time with all of you again. I'll confirm flight times, etc.. once I have them and I was planning on bringing some luggage this time so I think I'll take the normal route. I need to go now, have to find the answer to the last piece of this puzzle before I can be free to see you all. Missing you, G"

Although he would read the messages several times over the next few days it wasn't until he was making the flight arrangements that he noticed they all referred to his visit as him coming home. He wondered about his not noticing that before and decided that it was simply missed in his excitement about the trip. However, this realisation made him think of his inevitable departure from Sunnydale to return to his true home and he felt a shiver sweep over him at the prospect of seeing them all again and then leaving them all again. He took a walk around the garden in the late afternoon and allowed the rapidly cooling breeze to clear his thoughts and tried to recapture his pleasure in the forthcoming trip.


	9. Chapter 9

Willow was studiously poring over a notebook when Buffy finally arrived downstairs. "Did Dawn remember her note for P.E.?" Buffy asked as she got herself a glass of juice and went to sit beside her friend.

"Uhuh" Willow mumbled and finished writing down some information before looking up at Buffy. "She also said that she might need another note for later in the week as the bruise might not be gone by then"

Buffy looked a little sheepishly at her friend then stared into her juice. "It's not my fault that she didn't inherit the slayer healing along with everything else. And I did try to tell her that she was too young to be practising with the larger swords"

Willow got herself some more tea. "She's more annoyed that she can't wear her new skirt because the bruise will show and she doesn't want to have to explain it to Martin"

Buffy looked up quickly. "Who's Martin?" she asked. "She's never mentioned him to me before, do we know him, have we seen him outdoors in a sunny place?" Buffy was in the middle of a rant and Willow thought it best not to interrupt her before she ran out of steam. "How short is this skirt if it would show the bruise on her upper thigh and what's this boy doing looking at her legs anyway?" she finally stopped to draw breath.

"Buffy, she's fine and Martin's OK too" Willow reassured her. "I checked his school records and did some background work on his family and he just seems to be a normal teenage boy" she grinned at her friend. "Which just leaves you with the normal teenage boy type stuff that could go wrong!"

"Willow!" Buffy shouted. "You are not helping. Can you even remember the danger contained within the body of a `normal' teenage boy?"

"I'm not that old" Willow responded. "I do remember what they were like but I've met Martin and he seems nice, a bit quiet and he's in the science club"

"Oh and that worked out so well for you" Buffy said before she could stop herself. A look of embarrassment took up residence on her face and her hand flew to her mouth as if to stop the words.

Willow looked at her, grinned and raised her eyebrows. "OK, well perhaps I should be giving Dawn some lessons in how to deal with the opposite sex in high school since her sister can only cover the `getting dumped' and `one night stand' sections of the class"

Buffy smiled and tried to look affronted. "Hey I didn't always get dumped�" she ground to a halt as Willow tried desperately not to laugh out loud. "OK, but I didn't do the one night stand thing until�…."

"Skanky?" Willow suggested and drank some more of her tea.

"Witch" Buffy retorted and pulled the notebook from under Willow's elbow. "So what are we working on today?" she pretended to take great interest in Willow's colour co-ordinated notations.

"These are some of the contacts that Giles suggested we talk to about the sect and also some ideas of my own on possible descendants still living in the area" Willow gave her tacit agreement to dropping the subject of Dawn's extra curricular activities. "I thought we could spend the day trying to see as many as we could before we send another email to Giles"

Buffy nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me, let's hit the sidewalks" she stood up and took her glass into the kitchen. "Willow" she said quietly as she watched her head for the stairs. "Thanks for looking out for Dawn, I really appreciate it"

Willow smiled over the bannister at her. "What else would I do for my little sister?" she asked and ran upstairs.

*****

They sat in the Espresso Pump, drinking mochas with extra whipped cream. "Who knew there were so many experts on ancient sects in this area?" Buffy asked. "I always thought Giles just knew this stuff, turns out he had people feeding him the answers all along"

Willow smiled and sipped her drink. "I met some of his contacts but the ones we visited this morning were new to me" She looked thoughtful for a minute. "I guess the weird thing is that we all thought he sat in his apartment waiting for us to come to him with the monster of the week, but he seems to have had all these other people he kept in regular contact with and we didn't even know"

Buffy nodded. "I just assumed I was the only oblivious one where his private life was concerned but he got pretty good at keeping you guys out of the loop as well"

"I don't think it was him excluding us so much as none of us being interested enough to find out about him as a person" Willow suggested and frowned. "We were all equally guilty, except maybe for Tara"

Buffy looked a little surprised. "I didn't know that Tara was especially close to him"

Willow nodded. "In the last six months or so they were getting closer because of their concerns about me and also when she was new to the group she made the effort to get to know him"

"We made the effort when we first met him although, we were all kind of thrown together at the beginning" Buffy suggested.

Willow interrupted her "And we were sixteen years' old and too selfish to be interested in an old fossil like him. Parts of his past kept leaking out, like when we found out about Ripper, but he kept the rest to himself and by the time we were older he was like a piece of the furniture and we thought we knew him. When Tara met him for the first time she understood that he was an important part of the group, even if we didn't treat him as such at the time, and she instinctively knew that he could teach her about the things she needed to know to survive" Willow took another sip of her coffee and stared at the foam for a few seconds.

Buffy gave her a moment or two before putting her hand over her friends. "You OK Will?"

"Yeah" Willow smiled a little weakly at her. "It's just, sometimes I don't think about her for a few hours and then I suddenly remember her and what happened and it's like losing her all over again" She took a deep breath and finished her coffee. "Let's go and we can try to see some of these possible descendants before we meet up with Dawn at school"

Buffy nodded. "OK, but let's make sure we get to school in time to see Martin" she suggested and took the list from Willow to work out the nearest address. Willow just shook her head and followed her friend outside.

********

The gang were sitting around Xander's table, finishing off a pizza, and discussing the results of their day's findings. "So we know that the Guilen sect were actually the good guys. Everyone we spoke to said they were renowned for the care they took of those within their community and they genuinely battled evil in all of it's forms" Willow passed round pieces of kitchen paper while Dawn removed the empty boxes to the kitchen. "They seemed to have some sort of unknown power to vanquish the minor demons that were around at the time, mainly annoying things like fear and mischief demons, but there aren't any records of how they managed this or of what happened to wipe them out" 

Buffy took over "This Professor Jennings seemed fairly certain that something happened and wiped out all of the sects at once. This must have been something big because there were ten or twelve groups spread throughout the state at the time and they all disappeared overnight"

Willow nodded and took over the story. "The strange thing is that there aren't any records of a big bad taking over Sunnydale at the time and you would expect whatever had wiped them out to be all gloaty and take overy"

Xander handed round some drinks. "Maybe they self destructed, you know, tried to get rid of a little demon and it backfired on them or something?"

Willow nodded. "Perhaps, but I don't think that sort of accident would eradicate all of the sect communities"

"How about the people who still live here, don't they have any family stories to tell?" Dawn asked.

"Not really, it was a bit of a long shot, we are talking about family folklore surviving for over 200 years" Willow looked a little discouraged. "I keep thinking that this is just a case of the residents of the home picking up on whatever happened all those years ago and, although it's frustrating not to be able to find out what it was, it's not really that serious?"

Xander looked a little uncomfortable. "I know this isn't end of the world stuff but those old ladies were really wigging about this and I'd like to clear it up for them"

Buffy smiled at him. "Xander, you looking to be a toy boy again?"

"Not unless you're looking for a new flame Buff?" he joked back and ducked as she threw her paper towel at him.

"Perhaps Giles would know some way we could desensitise the home?" Willow suggested. "I know he spent quite a lot of his spare time a few years ago researching poltergeist and hauntings so maybe he could come up with a cleansing spell that would at least tone down the events"

"Sounds like a plan Will" Xander suggested. "Are we going to wait until next week when he visits or try to sort this out before he gets here?"

Dawn looked a little worried. "He did say he was coming for a holiday and didn't want to work when he got here"

Willow looked a little uncomfortable. "I don't really think I could do the necessary spells and he would probably be able to clear this up in a day or two"

Buffy looked a little surprised. "Perhaps we could give him a heads up on the situation tonight and he can let us know the best way to deal with it?" Willow seemed a little relieved and Buffy knew that her fear of undertaking any serious magic was at the root of her discomfort, however, she wasn't sure whether to agree with her friend in this situation or force her to `get back on the horse' by doing the spell. Perhaps she would call Giles later and speak to him about Willow's progress and the best way forward. 

***** 

Giles jumped a little when the phone rang and took a moment to mark his place in the book on his lap before reaching for the table beside him. "Buffy, how nice to hear from you, is everything alright?" He could hear her sigh a little and found himself smiling at her slightly petulant tone. "No, of course I don't think you only phone when something is wrong. Perhaps you were calling to give me a suggestion list of presents for next week?"

Buffy smiled despite her grumpy mood and decided that a little one-on-one Giles time was probably just what she needed right now. "I'll get to the presents later but first I need to ask a quick question about the golden ghost stuff we've been working on" She could almost imagine him putting his glasses back on and moving the phone to his other ear as he picked up a pen to note down any salient points. "The contacts you gave us were all quite helpful and agreed that the Guilen peeps were of the good so we're all a bit stuck on where to go with this. Xander would still like us to try and interrupt the ghostly goings on because they seemed to be freaking out the wrinklies but Willow's not too sure and is suggesting we wait till you're here"

Giles frowned slightly. "Does Willow think this is something serious?" 

Buffy found herself shaking her head before she answered him. "Nope, I think she's just a bit wigged about doing her mojo without you here in case she gets her bad self back again"

"But she has handled magic before now and everything has been OK" he suggested. "Is she there, perhaps she just needs some advice on the best spell to use?"

Buffy again shook her head. "Nope, she's out shopping with Dawn for some more macho bed linen. Apparently you shouldn't have to put up with snoopy pillow cases" He could visualise her broad smile and chuckled at the memory of the last time he had been staying with them. "Anyway" Buffy continued "Will said you are guru guy about this kind of thing and wants to wait till next week so you can deal with it but I think that she's just using that as an excuse"

Giles thought for a moment or two. "Perhaps it would be better to wait until I can talk to Willow about this" he finally suggested.

Buffy was a little surprised at his suggestion. "But we don't want you working while you're here, it's supposed to be a holiday"

Giles chuckled again. "And you weren't going to train with me or let me patrol with you?" he asked in a disbelieving tone of voice.

"That's different, it would be fun and I've been practising this new kick and you are laughing at me, I can tell, even at this distance" she tried to pout a little but could feel her smile overcoming her. "OK, you can talk to Willow when you get here but this had better not eat into the planned quality shopping time"

Giles sighed. "Tell Willow I'd rather have a chat with the people experiencing the events before you do anything and I'm sure she'll be fine"

Buffy felt a small sense of relief wash over her and identified it as the feeling that always hit her when Giles took control of the situation. "Damn" she mumbled to herself, "I'm never going to get rid of that"

"Did you say something, I couldn't quite catch it?" he suggested, although he was sure he had heard her curse under her breath. That wasn't like Buffy at all and he felt a little concerned that he wouldn't be with them for another week but then he heard her clear her throat and knew everything was going to be OK.

"About those presents" she began and he pulled his notepad towards him as he cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear.


	10. Chapter 10

Willow was busy discussing flight arrivals with a harried-looking airline employee while Xander and Dawn argued over the best position for the "Welcome Home Giles" banner.

Buffy was sitting nursing a coffee, occasionally glancing at the arrivals board. Willow seemed to have finally run out of questions and moved to sit next to her. "Hey," she said quietly. "You OK?"

Buffy nodded and took another sip of her coffee. "Just a little tired after patrol last night" she made the excuse without any thought.

"But I thought you said there was only one newbie?" Willow asked.

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, but I didn't sleep too well when I got home �sometimes the lack of a good fight is worse than a busy night"

Willow looked a little confused then a grin lit up her face. "Oh I get it, I remember Faith telling us.."

"Not the same thing" Buffy quickly interrupted and tried to send forgetful thoughts directly to Willow's memory centre. "Shouldn't Giles be here by now?" she asked in a shameless attempt to change the subject.

Willow smirked a little. "You lie really badly sometimes, you know?" she suggested and met Buffy's startled gaze for a few seconds before nodding towards the airline desk. "The check-in clerk said they had some bad weather mid-Atlantic but they should be here in about twenty minutes"

Buffy settled back to wait and eventually Xander and Dawn moved to sit next to them. "I hope he doesn't get airsick" Dawn suggested and looked at the others a little worriedly. "Perhaps we should have left the welcome home dinner till tomorrow"

Willow patted her knee. "He tries to sleep on most of these long haul flights and usually misses all of the meals. He'll be starving by the time he arrives" 

Xander nodded and held up a brown paper bag. "Hence the munchies for the car journey" he stared into the depths. "Twinkies, Oreos everything he must have been missing"

The three of them chatted inconsequentially and Buffy was glad to let their conversation wash over her. She was relieved today had finally arrived and wasn't lying when she told Willow that she hadn't slept very well, although her friend wasn't entirely wrong about the reasons! 

However, a large part of her discomfort had been worrying over his return and how they would react to each other. She was the one who had complained that he only ever came back to them when some apocalypse was threatening but at least they all had their well-defined parts to play in those scenarios. Now that he was here purely for pleasure and the Hellmouth was quiet, she wasn't sure how they would all interact, or rather how she would react. She glanced at the others as they laughed at something Xander had said, they all seemed confident and happy about his return, why couldn't she concentrate on the good and let the bad stuff sort itself out?

He politely let the large family group move ahead of him and took a moment to stretch his cramped legs and lower back before thanking the air stewards and heading towards the arrivals lounge. No doubt they would all be waiting and he wasn't sure what the dominant feeling was� embarrassment at the inevitable public displays of affection, relief that they were all well or excitement at being back with them. He shrugged his shoulders and rounded the final corner, not realising that his face had decided that a slightly jeg-lagged smile would be the emotion of choice, to begin with.

He tried to argue with Xander but the young man was insistent and Giles finally gave up and put an arm around Dawn as Xander carried his bags. Willow moved up to his other side to walk next to him, and the three moved slightly ahead as Xander smiled his thanks at Buffy and handed her the biggest suitcase. "He probably only brought two suitcases filled with books this time around, after all, it is a holiday" she suggested.

Xander hefted another bag and sighed. "Someone has got to tell him about paperbacks"

Willow pushed open the door of the Summer's home and headed towards the kitchen to put the kettle on. Dawn was busy filling him in on her progress at school and Xander helped Buffy take the luggage upstairs. "I'm quite happy to sleep on the sofa" he smiled at Buffy on her return.

"I know how uncomfortable that sofa is and I've got slayer healing and younger muscles to help me cope" she smiled sweetly. "Besides, Willow and I are treating the whole thing like a marathon pajama party"

He raised his eyebrows and smiled at Willow as she came into the room with a tray. "Makes me wish I had brought some decent pyjamas," he said quietly under his breath and moved some magazines from the coffee table to give Willow the space to put the tray down.

"Xander could probably lend you some" Dawn smiled at him and nodded towards Xander as he came downstairs.

Xander looked a little puzzled. "You couldn't possibly have forgotten anything � I think the closet is in the suitcase along with the clothes"

Giles sighed and tried to remember that he would inevitably be overheard if it would cause him embarrassment � that's just how the powers that be worked for him. "It's OK" he smiled at the young man. "I think I do remember packing some after all"

He spent the next hour or so regaling them with stories of the work he had been doing for the Council. Buffy looked more than a little grumpy when he mentioned Travers' name but she soon perked up when he explained exactly where the demon had slashed him and the number of stitches required. Eventually, he couldn't stop the yawn from surfacing and Willow looked sheepishly at her watch. "It must be about one am in London, perhaps you'd like to rest for a couple of hours?"

He shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. I usually try to stay awake until normal bedtime when I come over, it makes the changeover pass more quickly" he yawned again and was sure his jaw was going to crack. "However, a shower might be helpful before we discuss the Guilen information"

Buffy stood up "I'll just show you where everything is" 

"I'm sure I'll remember" he began but she had already started up the stairs. He smiled at Willow as he turned to follow her. "When I come back down perhaps we can go over the information you have collected since our last email?" 

"Are you sure you want to work, perhaps it could wait till tomorrow?" she suggested.

"It will take me a few days to get used to `tomorrow' as a useful concept, I'd rather get started right away if that's OK with you?" he didn't wait for her answer, heading upstairs to the bathroom. 

Buffy waited for him outside the room he was using and glanced behind him to make sure he was on his own. "Did Willow seem OK to you when you mentioned the research?" she asked in a fierce whisper.

"She seemed a little concerned about tiring me but I think she was comfortable enough" he seemed a little perplexed. "In fact, she seems happier than I remember her for some time �do you detect something I should be worried about?"

"Nope," Buffy shook her head but was obviously not entirely sure. "I'm just worried she's getting a bit freaked about the magic stuff"

He moved past her and opened one of his cases. Gathering his toilet bag he headed towards the bathroom "I'll know better once I've had a chance to talk to her, perhaps you could take Xander and Dawn out somewhere and give us some time to ourselves?"

Buffy nodded and started to follow him into the bathroom. "Good plan but you'll need to be quick because I've got to be back at six to get dinner started" He stared at her for a minute with one eyebrow raised and his glasses in his hand. "What, you don't trust me to cook dinner?" she said defensively and put her hand on her hip.

"Actually I was just wondering whether you were going to stay there while I showered or if you needed anything else before you left?" he smiled as she glanced around the bathroom and blushed a little.

"I think you can manage from here, I'll see you later" she mumbled and pulled the door behind her as she left.


	11. Chapter 11

He came downstairs feeling much cleaner and awake. By the complete lack of noise, he was fairly sure that Buffy, Xander, and Dawn had left and he instinctively headed for the kitchen to find Willow. She was busy making more tea and he leaned against the door frame watching her for a moment before sighing. "Do you need a hand?" he asked as she turned to look at him.

"Nope, I'm doing fine" she smiled back at him. "Buffy and the others went to the Magic Box to help Anya close up so that she could join us for dinner"

He nodded and took the tray from her, putting it down next to her laptop on the dining room table. "I only hope I can stay awake long enough to enjoy the evening"

"If you are too tired we can do this tomorrow" she suggested again.

"No, I think I would rather do something with my brain to help me forget the disgruntled children and appalling airline movies" he poured them both tea and then pointed towards the laptop. "I asked a colleague of mine to gather some final pieces of information and email them to both of us, perhaps you could check if you have received anything yet?"

"You are really getting into this electronic age, aren't you?" she said, trying not to laugh at him. "Remind me to show you how to use net-meeting while you are here"

"You can check to see if it will work on my laptop, I brought it with me" he sipped his tea and tried not to look smug. "I do get quite a few emails and, as I refuse to get a mobile phone, it is the only way the Council can contact me when I am on my travels"

Willow pulled up some information and turned the screen so that he could read it as well. "Maybe you'll be showing me a thing or two before your holiday is over?" she asked and then saw the look of astonishment on his face. She replayed her remark in her head and felt herself blush as she realised the connotation. "Oh, goddess I only meant with the computer and stuff and I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you and anyway, gay now, so no showing of things required, in either direction and.." she ground to a halt as he started to laugh. "First you turn into a computer geek and now you are mocking me?" she asked a little indignantly.

This only caused him to laugh some more and eventually he had to put his tea down. He reached across and put his hand over hers where it was drumming on the tabletop. "I'm sorry, I'd just forgotten your babbling and the complete innocence with which you make these pronouncements" He pulled her chin round to make her look at him, he could tell she was desperately trying not to smile. "Willow, do you forgive me?" he asked quietly.

She looked straight into his eyes. "Perhaps we should ignore the inappropriate sex talk and get back to work?" she very nearly finished before starting to giggle.

He looked at her in astonishment, she had captured his wounded tone of embarrassment perfectly. "Perhaps that would be best" he grinned at her and nodded towards the screen. "Has George sent the information through?"

Willow studied the screen for a moment and nodded. "It's coming through right now, we could catch up on what we've found so far and look at it once it's transferred?" She picked up a folder containing all of the information they had found to date. She turned to the back of the pile. "Everyone we've spoken to agreed that the Guilen were a peace-loving sect who occasionally rid their local communities of minor demons and curses. Nobody is sure how they managed to escape the witch hunts, although I would guess that a fairly easy memory spell would be enough to make people forget whenever the witch-finders were in town" she paused and took a moment to catch her breath.

He knew she was remembering her own forays into this type of spell and waited patiently for her to pick up where she had stopped.

Willow sighed and picked up another piece of paper. "The sect set up home in Sunnydale on the site currently used by the Residential Home and they seemed to live there quite happily for about ten years"

He nodded in agreement, "Some of the information George has pulled together for me relates to their other properties but they all seem to have been set up in a similar manner and to a similar design so perhaps there was a ritual significance to certain parts of the building"

Willow lifted up a notebook and flipped through several pages. "When we talked to the residents they seemed to remember the voices as shouting at each other across a large hall, so perhaps there was a central gathering place in each property?" 

Giles took the notebook from her and read a couple of pages. "Perhaps it would be best if I met with these people and spent a little time in the Home. I may be able to pick up some of the residual energies"

Willow poured herself another cup of tea. "The residents all tell a similar story and, although it is obviously distressing for them I don't think they are in any danger. Perhaps this is just a few sensitives picking up on the history of the building?"

"Perhaps" he agreed, "but it would be best to rid the residents of even this minor irritant, you know how these things can grow out of control this close to the Hellmouth"

They fell into an easy silence as Willow glanced at the screen. "He seems to be sending quite a large file, perhaps he has scanned in some documents"

"Let's use the time to catch up" he suggested and moved towards the sofa. "How have you been coping since your return?" he asked and signaled her to sit on the nearby chair.

"OK, I guess," she said a little reluctantly. "I think Buffy and Xander were quite happy to see little old me and not scary, veiny me and the spell to rid the Magic Box of the infestation helped to reassure them that I was able to control the magics I used"

"Did it convince you?" he asked quietly and leaned back, crossing his legs and getting comfortable. "Your correspondence at the time seemed to suggest a lack of confidence but that has slowly waned in recent weeks and I assumed you were finally accepting your place within the normal scheme of things"

"Kind of" she agreed. "If I wasn't sure I could control myself I wouldn't be here at all and sometimes I get a little panicky and have to meditate but mostly everything has returned to normal"

He waited a moment to see if she would continue but when it was obvious that she wouldn't he quietly asked "Why does that bother you?" and met her gaze when she looked up at him abruptly. "You seem almost disappointed that everything has gone back to normal"

She took a couple of deep breaths and nodded slowly. "Perhaps I just feel that I haven't really paid for what I did and it's wrong that I can go back so easily to a happy life with friends and laughter"

"I hardly think that the initial treatment at the Coven could be described as easy and you will pay every day for the rest of your life, even if you don't realise it yet" he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "You took a human life and that sits within your soul and darkens your innermost thoughts and feelings, it's not something you can ever get rid of by undergoing physical punishment of any kind, that's the easy way out"

"I know" she mumbled and twisted her hands together. "I just seem to be able to forget everything for hours at a time and then I remember and I feel terrible at being happy"

"So you feel bad forgetting about Tara and what you did?" he suggested. "Perhaps you need to speak to a counselor and try to get past the grief because I'm sure Tara would want you to remember her but not at the expense of everything else. I know you have come a long way but there is no shame in still needing help to get through this" He paused and considered his next words carefully "As to forgetting about what you did to Warren, you need to believe me that you will carry that with you for the rest of your life and nothing you do will ever make it go away"

She sat quietly a moment and thought through his advice. Slowly she raised her head and looked at him, "You know, don't you?" she asked quietly. "You know what this is like because you've gone through it?"

He nodded slowly and took his glasses off, rubbing his face with his hands. "I still go through it, and although my reasons were more than revenge and it saved many other lives at the time, I still have to live with the guilt" he looked towards her. "I don't relish the years you have ahead of you because it can be very difficult. Sometimes you just want to deaden the pain in any way you can but you must try to resist the urge because it's still there in the morning and it's never easier to deal with while suffering from a hangover"

She smiled at him and stood up to pace. "I remember seeing you the morning after the big fight we all had. Tara and I came round to pick up my laptop and you were so hungover that I thought your head was going to explode. I was still angry with you but Tara wanted to get you some jelly doughnuts and stay with you to make sure you were OK"

"She was a good person and I miss her terribly but it does not serve her memory well if you choose not to use your gifts for the benefit of those around you" He moved back towards the dining room. "Tara was a very talented witch but she didn't have your power and she knew that she would always be the one to anchor you. She had accepted that role before you began abusing your talent and I think she would have been very proud of the steps you have taken in your recovery so far" He leaned over the laptop and began looking through the files that had been sent.

After five minutes or so Willow joined him at the table and he noticed that her eyes were a little red and her nose was still running. "What did we get from George?" she asked.

"Perhaps you would like to freshen up before the others get home, I don't want Buffy or Xander to blame me for upsetting you?" he smiled at her and she sniffed again and nodded her agreement.

When she came back downstairs he was concentrating on the folder of information she had gathered. She slipped into her seat and looked through the information that had been sent to them. "Did any of that help?" she asked.

"It certainly confirmed my opinion that the sect built all of their properties to a similar design and it also firmed up the dates for the end of the sects throughout California" he seemed to consider his next words carefully. "I think what we are looking at is a demon that took all of their strength to defeat and it finally took them with it when it was overcome"

Willow nodded "That would kind of make sense but they only ever took on small demons and curses, why would they suddenly move up to the big league?"

"Needs must..�." Giles began and smiled as he realised how appropriate the rest of the cliché was. "Perhaps the threat wasn't centered in Sunnydale but they tried to use the combined power of all of their communities to overcome a demon who was threatening a little more than nuisance value?"

"And that's why they all disappeared at the same time" she nodded.

He pointed to the laptop and took his glasses off to clean them. "A confrontation of that magnitude must have left some records or accounts" he smiled at her as he replaced his glasses. "Perhaps a few hours on the Internet would dig up some mention from one of the other sect locations?"

She shook her head a little and flexed her fingers. "Some things never change" she began scanning through her favourites list. "If I'm to resume my role as chief surfer you'll have to prepare the vegetables for dinner. Buffy left strict instructions and I wouldn't want to be the one to upset her, you know how picky she gets when she's hosting"

"At least I can make a mess of her kitchen this time around" he grinned and headed towards the kitchen.

***** 

"The dinner was a great success" he smiled at her as he carefully measured coffee into the pot. "You really are quite a good cook"

Buffy finished taking down the good coffee set from a top shelf and turned to look at him "Watch it with the enthusiasm or you'll end up with the dishes" she smiled. "But it was OK, you had a good time?"

He helped her lay out the coffee things on a tray. "Of course, how could it not go well when I have my extended family around me?" he thought about what he had said and ruefully shook his head. 

"Actually that is usually the very time when things go wonky" she agreed and started to laugh. "You must have been away too long this time Giles, you would think you would remember all of the disastrous get togethers"

"Some of them were quite non-disastrous" he suggested strongly. "Thanksgiving was usually relatively quiet and Xander's birthday video marathons were usually only painful because of his awful choice in movies" 

"Hey" the young man in question glared at him as he entered the kitchen. "I assume that means you are taking yourself off the invite list for next weekend?" he took the tray from Buffy as Giles lifted the coffee pot. "We've just decided that a movie night is what we've been missing recently"

"Only if I get to choose at least one of the films," Giles said to his retreating back.

"Only one and it's not allowed to be educational or worthy in any way" Xander laid down the ground rules. "Oh and that means Shakespeare is definitely out" he added as an afterthought.

Anya pouted. "But I was going to suggest that one where Denzel Washington wears the leather trousers" she looked towards Buffy for agreement.

"Oooohhh" Buffy nodded. "That was Shakespeare?" she asked and winked at Willow as she heard Giles groan beside her. "I wasn't really listening just watching" she smiled and followed Anya into a happy place dream.

Dawn looked on a little sadly and then perked up. "Wait, that had Keanu Reeves in leather pants too, right?" she suddenly looked radiant and gazed off into the distance as well.

Willow glanced at Giles and Xander and smiled broadly. "Perhaps we should let them have at least one chick-flick?"

Giles looked towards Xander. "OK, but that doesn't count as my choice?" 

Xander thought deeply and finally shrugged his shoulders. "Alright but one final thing" he paused to build the sense of anticipation, glancing across to see Willow grinning at him. "It has to be a talky, none of your boyhood silent favourites"


	12. Chapter 12

Willow phoned ahead to arrange another visit to the Residential Home. Mrs Wayne was waiting in the foyer as they arrived and looked towards Giles as Willow shook her hand. "Mrs Wayne, I'd like to introduce you to one of the foremost experts on residual spiritual activity, Professor Rupert Giles" 

Giles tried to look professorial and vowed to speak severely to Willow when they were alone, she hadn't mentioned his promotion. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Wayne" he smiled politely.

The older woman seemed to take a long time to release his hand and Willow was sure she noticed a slight blush as she held Giles' gaze.

Willow finally coughed. "Perhaps we could meet the residents from our last visit and then I believe the professor would like to take some readings in the areas where the occurrences have been most frequent?"

"Of course, we'll use the same room as before if that was OK for you?" she finally looked towards Willow and unconsciously ran her hand through her hair. "Can I get you some coffee?" she looked back towards Giles as she opened the door and motioned them to enter the room.

"Not right now thank you" he replied and smiled at her again.

Willow tried to hide her grin as the older woman mimicked his smile for a few seconds before gathering herself. "I'll just go and tell the residents that you are here" she finally said and turned rather abruptly to leave the room.

"Willow!" he said in a quiet undertone. "Why on earth did you decide on the title?"

"It just seemed to fit, what with the stuffy old tweed suit and everything" she pointed vaguely at his attire, tried to look apologetic but couldn't carry it off. "I thought it would impress the matron but I didn't allow for the older woman, killer charm working its magic"

"What on earth are you talking about?" he asked and started to pace a little. 

"Oh please, she was practically falling over herself at your smile and the extra English accent didn't hurt either" she nodded her approval. "I'd forgotten how sexy that could sound when you first come across it"

He stood speechless in the centre of the room and was finally gathering his wits to ask exactly what she was talking about when the smitten Mrs Wayne returned with two older women and a suspicious looking man in tow. 

Willow moved forward to meet them and directed everyone to the chairs she had rearranged into a semi-circle. "Where's Mike?" she asked and realised the truth as she looked at the sad faces of the others. "I'm sorry, I didn't know" she mumbled and Giles saw her physically returning to the awkward school girl from the professional woman who had entered the home with him.

He stepped forward and introduced himself to the three residents, giving her time to recollect herself. 

"Am I to understand that one of your friends is no longer with us?" he asked Ernie.

Ernie nodded and looked towards Willow with some trepidation. "He died last week" he seemed a little reluctant to share the details.

"Was he ill?" Giles asked gently and was aware of Willow pulling herself together and getting her notebook out of her bag.

Kate shook her head. "He was fine right up until he went to bed" she seemed to pause for a moment as if deciding whether or not to go on. "When they found him in the morning he was crouched in the corner and the room was freezing cold."

Willow looked up sharply. "You think he had another episode?" 

Ernie shook his head. "I don't think Mike was the kind of guy to get scared enough to up and die on us" he looked severely at the two women. "But he might have imagined anything if he took unwell during the night"

"This puts rather a different complexion on things" Giles sighed and removed his glasses. "I'm afraid I'll need you all to go through your accounts again and I'll need to see your rooms and the room where Mike was"

Sheila sniffled a little into a lace handkerchief "It all started a few weeks ago and it has happened to all of us twice" she looked genuinely scared now and Giles leaned across to put his hand on her arm. She smiled a little weakly at him. "If it came to Mike again that would have been his third visit, do you think that has anything to do with him passing like that?"

Willow started to shake her head in an automatic attempt to allay their fears when Giles leaned back and looked at all three. "I'm not sure and I'm sorry for the loss of your friend but perhaps after today, I will be able to put your minds at rest. I'll certainly do all I can to work out what has been happening here and, with Ms Rosenberg's help, I'm sure we'll be able to put a stop to it"

The two women looked a little reassured about this but Ernie seemed to get a suspicious look on his face. "What exactly are you a professor of?"

Giles looked towards Willow and raised his eyebrows in an `I told you so' look, before turning back to the old man. "I'm a Professor of Ancient History and my doctorate was completed at Oxford many years ago. My specialisation since then has given me an insight into the workings of residual spirit activity of this kind and Ms Rosenberg has had occasion to call upon my expertise on several interesting cases over the years"

Willow kept facing the three residents while her mind tried to work out whether he was lying or not. It was perfectly feasible that his Watcher training had actually resulted in some kind of qualification, she must remember to ask him about it later. "I'm sorry, perhaps this isn't the best time for us to be here?" she asked and started to put her notebook back into her handbag. 

Kate scowled at Ernie and handed Sheila another handkerchief. "Please don't go, Ernie just finds it difficult to forget his background and treats everyone like a suspect in an interrogation"

Giles waved his hand in the air as if to forget the entire incident. "You were a policeman in Sunnydale?" he asked the older man and knew by the wary look in his eyes that the answer was going to be yes. This was confirmed when Ernie nodded his head slightly, but he was obviously not going to discuss it any further. "I've spent some time here in the past and I think you would agree that it is best to face the unusual things that happen here or they will generally just get worse?" Giles suggested.

Ernie nodded his head again and seemed to sag a little as if the fight had gone out of him. Kate noticed the exchange and turned to Willow with a puzzled look on her face. "Has this kind of thing happened here before?"

"Not exactly this but sometimes unusual events have been known to happen in the Dale that is Sunny" she tried to keep her tone light and was relieved to see both women relax a little. "Perhaps Sheila could get us started by running through what happened to her?" she asked and turned to look at Giles.

He nodded and turned his full attention to the older woman. "Please, anything you can remember, no matter how insignificant, would be helpful"

After two hours the three residents stood to leave and Willow was relieved to see Mrs Wayne hovering outside the room. "Is everything alright?" she asked anxiously.

Giles finished cleaning his glasses and turned his best dazzling smile on her. "Everything's fine, I just need ten minutes with Ms Rosenberg to sort through some details then we would like to have a look at the affected rooms if that is suitable?"

She simpered "Of course, is there anything I can get for you, coffee or tea perhaps?"

"A mug of your tea would undoubtedly help the brain cells" he suggested and heard Willow snort behind him. He watched the older woman walk away, noticing the decided sway that she appeared to have suddenly acquired, before closing the door and turning to Willow. She was sitting watching him with a large grin on her face. "What is it now?" he asked, unable to keep the smile from his own face.

"I've never seen you do that before, it's just kind of weird" she shook her head. "At least now I know what Buffy meant when she said you were her rakish uncle"

"Perhaps we should collate the information and finish up here before we continue this ridiculous conversation later?" he asked and sat down next to her to look at her notes.

Two cups of tea later they were directed to the east wing, the area where the disturbances had been reported. They found Ernie keeping a lookout for them and he signaled them to follow him when they turned the corner. "I didn't want to say anything when the ladies were there earlier but I'm not so sure that Mike didn't get another visit that night"

"Did you hear something?" Giles asked as he followed the man into what was obviously his room. 

"Heard some groaning but that could just as easily have been old Mr McFadyen in Room 26" he suggested and turned to see Giles' reaction.

"Giles look at this" Willow said before he had a chance to answer. She was standing in front of some pictures hanging on the wall behind the door. "Recognise this one?" she asked as she pointed to a picture of Ernie in his uniform shaking hands with the Mayor.

"Did you know him well?" Giles asked in as neutral a tone of voice as he could manage.

"Pretty well, up until he changed into a giant snake and tried to eat the graduating class at the high school" Ernie replied matter of factly and sat down in a large chair beside the window.

Willow frowned and put her hand into her pocket to check the stake she always carried there. 

Giles shook his head slightly and placed his hand on her arm. "I thought you seemed unfazed by the subject of unusual events," he said in a quiet voice that Willow recognised as dangerous to whoever was on the end of it. "Do you want to tell us exactly how much you know of what has been going on here?"

The old man took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out as he exhaled. "I've seen some pretty strange things over the years, there were nights when vampires were the least of my worries, but I've never come across anything like this," he said and met Giles' eyes. "I know some of what goes on in this town and I recognised you the minute you walked in. I've seen you around too many crime scenes to think you are just a visiting Professor" he waited to give Giles the chance to refute this allegation.

"Actually I am, technically, a Professor and I am just visiting but you are correct in thinking I used to be a little more involved in this town's problems" He nodded towards Willow. "Willow is a member of a group of people who are concerned with making sure that the demons and vampires don't win the day and they picked up on the occurrences here and asked me to have a look because it is something of an interest of mine"

Willow came to stand next to him. "He's the best chance we have of getting rid of whatever is causing this trouble" She lifted her chin a little and brought out her resolve face to prove her sincerity.

Ernie flinched a little and started to smile. "OK, I believe you but I don't really know much more than I told you earlier"

"Do you think it was Mr McFadyen that was groaning or was it Mike?" Giles asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Was his room quite near to this?" Willow asked as she glanced around then sat down next to Giles.

"Next door that way" Ernie motioned. "It was Mike all right but there was no way in Hell I was getting out of bed to see if he was OK" he seemed to get a little belligerent again. "I only heard one groan and then it all went quiet so I just assumed he had heartburn and turned over"

Willow looked towards Giles but he was deep in thought. "Perhaps you did the right thing if it was another episode you might have been attacked as well if you had gone in there"

He didn't look much happier at her attempt to salve his conscience. "Spent my life knocking down doors to help other folks, didn't use to matter that I was putting myself on the line," he said and sank into silence.

Willow seemed about to say something else when Giles put his hand on her arm and led her out of the room. "I'll let you know what we find," he said quietly as he closed the door to the old man's room behind them. "Not much we can do to help his guilt but let's try to sort out the rest of this mess, shall we?"

Willow nodded and took the key Mrs Wayne had given her, fitting it into the door next to Ernie's. They both stood in the doorway for a moment and took in the contents of the room. It had obviously been cleared of any personal effects but Willow could still feel the presence of the self-assured man she had met some weeks before. 

Giles stepped into the room and she followed him, closing the door behind her. He stood in the centre of the room and pulled a small notebook from his jacket pocket. Flipping through the pages he finally found what he was looking for and glanced up to make sure Willow was ready. 

She had taken a small candle from her shoulder bag and lit it. She mumbled a few words under her breath and then nodded to Giles that she was ready.

He smiled to reassure her and then slowly read out a phrase in Latin from the book in his hands. Willow didn't recognise all of the words but she knew he was calling forth the spirits of those who had inhabited the room to help him in his search for whatever was causing the problems.

She let her gaze travel around the room as her mind expanded to try to sense any spirits who may heed Giles' summons. As her eyes finally reached him standing in the middle of the room, his eyes closed and his hand holding the notebook at his side, she smiled at the reaction he had gained from the older women. She realised with a jolt that she was missing his close presence in her mind and, although they had never discussed it since his return, she finally admitted to herself that she wanted him to be that close to her all of the time. She felt his mind as it reached out to the rooms on either side of the one they were in and shivered a little as she was overwhelmed by the gentleness he could convey, even in these situations. Perhaps she was more aware than anyone of the steel that ran through him as well but had to admit that she was lucky to have been the recipient of his loyalty and affection on such a personal level.

Giles slowed his breathing and relaxed as he reached out to contact any spirits who were trapped within the confines of the home. He had come across many occasions where institutions like this played host to more than the paying residents. What was curious was that he couldn't sense any other presence and he decided to widen the search a little. Still mumbling the Latin phrase under his breath he expanded his search to take in a slightly larger area, however, the same results frustrated him. The only souls he could recognise were those of the living and this was so unusual that it took him a moment to notice the bright spark that was Willow within his mind. He smiled and began to withdraw from the surrounding rooms. He admitted to himself that it would be a wrench to cut the connection between both of them again but she had seemed quite relieved when he had returned and they had not regained their mental link. Slowly he opened his eyes and squinted slightly as the afternoon sun was now streaming in through the window. He turned to ask Willow if she was OK and caught his breath. She was standing directly in the sunlight with a smile of sheer contentment on her face. He couldn't remember ever seeing her looking so beautiful and almost dropped his book.

After a few minutes, Willow had closed her eyes to better concentrate on her search. Strangely, she had found it difficult to focus her mind on the task at hand while watching Giles. Rolling her shoulders slightly she relaxed a little more and followed his lead in expanding her search. She smiled unconsciously, thrilled that she still had access to a power that might have been denied her and that she was using it to help people.

"Willow," he said quietly, unwilling to startle her. "Willow, can you hear me?"

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, momentarily blinded by the sun until he stepped in front of her. "Oh," she sighed. "Hi, are we OK?" she smiled up at him and he couldn't help smiling back.

"We are fine but I don't think there is much else we can do here today" he pocketed the book and cupped his hands around the candle she still held, gently blowing the flame out. "We should return home and continue with our internet search" he suggested.

She caught her breath as he leaned in closer to her to blow out the candle. She could feel his breath on her shoulder and shuddered a little. Her mind snapped back to full clarity and she took a step backward. "Oh," she felt herself blushing. "Home sounds good" she glanced at her watch. "In fact, if we hurry, we could meet up with Dawn and walk her home from school"

He stepped back as well and shook his head slowly. He could have sworn that she was almost afraid of the closeness they had just shared and he immediately heard alarm bells go off in his head. "Are you sure you are feeling alright, perhaps the search was a little too much for you?" he asked and moved to open the door for her.

"Nope, everything is just fine, just felt a little spaced out at the end there, what with all the relaxing and flamey candle and everything" she assured him but seemed in an awful rush to leave the enclosed space of the room. "Just fine" she muttered to herself, "only if just fine can be translated in some weird language to mean going off of my head" She strode behind him to the front door and let him make the polite leaving noises to Mrs Wayne. When she heard the older woman try to delay their departure and saw her holding onto his hand as before her patience finally snapped. "Professor Giles," she said in a sharp tone. "We have the other meeting to attend and we are already late" She headed out the front door without even waiting to see if he followed her. "What the hell was that?" she asked herself.

"What the hell was that?" Giles asked her as he lengthened his stride to catch up with her. "Willow, stop" he ordered and put his hand on her shoulder. He noticed the slight shudder that went through her at his touch and took a step back again. "Please, tell me what is wrong and we can fix it together, did you sense something back there?"

She shook her head and took a couple of deep breaths. "Honestly it wasn't anything to do with the spell, I would tell you if it was" she was finally calming down and rerunning the events in her mind to try to sort through her feelings.

"Something must have happened for you to react like this" he suggested quietly and began walking again.

She moved to walk next to him. "I'm not sure" she admitted. "One minute we were doing the floaty mind thing and the next I'm getting really fed up with that woman pawing you" she shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps it's just a reaction to the spell after all but I don't feel any magical after effects" she stopped again and he turned round to meet her gaze. "Can you check me out?" she asked plaintively and smiled a little at the surprised look on his face. "I mean inside my head" she sighed and then felt an almost physical sense of loss. She shook her head again and said "You know what, let's just walk for a while and we'll see if this weird mood lifts any"

As they headed towards the school in silence Giles tried to surreptitiously stretch out his mind to calm hers but he was tired from the earlier spell and eventually decided to wait until they were both back home before trying anything too invasive. He sighed as he remembered the days when he could wield his magics for days on end and never have anything more than a headache to show for it. The coven had suggested that he would build up his stamina again but they weren't sure how long it would take and he had suggested that he used magics so rarely these days that it hardly mattered. Now, when it did matter, he was annoyed at his weakness. He knew that something had spooked Willow earlier but he hadn't sensed anything and wasn't sure if she had the power to see beyond what he had found. 

They had walked for several minutes before Willow squinted up at him and smiled a little. "Sorry about my snappiness back there, I don't know what came over me"

He shrugged his shoulders "Either you were attacked by a demon who had the ability to hide its presence from two of the most experienced practitioners of magic in this hemisphere or.." he turned to smile down at her.

"Or?" she asked a little nervously.

"Or," he said, dragging the word out "You were genuinely afraid for my virtue with that awful woman and decided to sacrifice your natural good manners and remove us from her presence forthwith?" 

She started giggling and playfully punched his arm "You were being a complete tease back there and anything that she had tried on you would have been your own fault" she finally managed to get out.

"You said that earlier, about my woman killing charm, what did I do?" he asked, seemingly genuinely puzzled.

"Actually I said older woman killer charm" she smiled sweetly at him as she stressed the `older'. "You were all `ooohh charmed to meet you ma'am' and British and you must know what that does to American ladies of a certain age?" she started giggling again.

He shook his head. "Are you telling me that my particular brand of charm doesn't work on anyone under the age of 55?" he stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets. "Older women used to be a bit of a goal but now I'm nearly there myself I think I'd prefer a younger model"

"At least Anya's safe from your evil machinations" she suggested and cocked her head to look at him more closely as he blushed and ducked his head to avoid her gaze. "What is it, don't tell me you have a thing for her as well?" she asked in an exasperated tone. "Why is it that all of the men in my life go for the 1100-year-old demon thing?" she sighed.

"I do not `go' for her," he said in his defense. "It was just you reminded me of a rather embarrassing incident and what do you mean all of the men in your life?" he thought he had neatly segued into another subject but she was not willing to let this drop.

"Incident?" she raised her eyebrows and put her arm through his. "Ooohhh tell all to your agony aunt" she felt his sigh from deep within his chest. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable and pulled her arm free but tried to keep a smile on her face to encourage him to share.

He felt her tense against him before removing her arm and quickly tried to make a comparison with her previous strange mood and jumpiness. Shaking his head he filed it in his memory for later and ruefully shook his head as he resigned himself to telling her some of the story. "��and when we came back to ourselves we were kissing and then we cleaned the shop" he finished in a rush.

"You kissed Anya!" she asked incredulously as he tried to quiet her voice. "Are we talking `fatherly' or `rakish uncle' with the lip action?" she asked and practically bounced as they continued to head for the school.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you must know we thought we were engaged and were making up after a row so it was�" he cast about for the word least likely to provoke another noisy outburst as they neared the school grounds. "Appropriate" he finally settled and ignored her when she stopped walking and stared after him. "Does this mean I will finally get to meet the evil Martin?" he asked as she started walking again and caught up with him.

She shook her head. "We will continue this later" she wagged her finger in front of him. "That's Martin there, holding Dawn's bag" she motioned towards a small group of youngsters. "Hey Dawnie" she shouted and turned to Giles. "Behave yourself, he's already had the third degree from Buffy and he doesn't need the `father figure' stern talk, OK?" she asked.

"I am not her father" he insisted and then realised that this probably wasn't the best place to make such stern pronouncements. "Hello Dawn," he said as the youngsters came over to meet them, "We thought we would take you for some coffee before we headed home for dinner," he said in a milder tone and looked expectantly at the embarrassed young man standing next to her. "You must be Martin?" he held out his hand. "I've heard a lot about you" he smiled and was sorry that their first meeting had to happen when he had deliberately worn his stuffiest tweed suit to impress Mrs Wayne.

"Hi" Martin replied nervously before turning to Dawn. "If you need to go I'll see you tomorrow, we can do the other thing another time" 

Dawn had an agonised look on her face and turned towards Willow for help. 

"Martin, why don't you join us, we were just going to grab a couple of mochas with the extra frothy cream" she motioned with her head for him to join them and smiled.

"OK" he shrugged. "If you're sure I won't get in the way" 

Dawn mouthed "Thank you" over her shoulder as she walked in front of her friends to catch up with Martin.

Giles hung back a little and bent down to speak quietly in Willow's ear. "Does he remind you of anyone?" he asked and inadvertently caught a whiff of her perfume.

Willow practically jumped out of her skin as she felt his breath against her ear and neck and had to take a deep breath herself before answering. "If you are planning on mentioning a shy child genius of your recent acquaintance you will be paying for the coffees"

"It's a deal" he smiled at her and remembered the first time he had met her. She had been so young and eager and he couldn't even begin to understand the changes within her to bring him to the present day young woman. This was probably just as well as he was rapidly becoming infatuated with the present day version and he had to constantly remind himself that he was her friend and she didn't need that kind of complication in her life, even if she hadn't made her sexual preference so clear. It made his own internal struggle a little easier if he managed to separate the innocent young child he had met only six years before from the confident, far from innocent woman who was walking in front of him right now. He gave himself an internal shake to stop himself from admiring the view as she caught up with the others and leaned down to whisper something in Dawn's ear. He still had three weeks of close confinement to get through and he tried to drag his mind back to the matter at hand to give himself some breathing space.

***** 

Dawn slid into a booth and looked a little disappointed when Martin chose the seat facing her. Giles sat next to her and smiled his thanks as Willow deposited his drink in front of him. 

"I thought you would drink tea" Martin suggested shyly as Giles blew some of the froth from the top of his mug. 

Giles smiled as Willow giggled into her froth, getting some on her nose. "I spent six years here, on and off, and I grew accustomed to the awful local beverages" he smiled as he leaned over to run his thumb over her nose. "You don't want a froth moustache" he suggested solemnly "The girls don't find that attractive for some reason"

Dawn started to giggle and Martin stared in astonishment between Giles and Willow.

Willow had tensed as he had reached out to her and was so concerned at the intimacy of his actions that she had to replay his remark in her head before she caught the meaning. "Giles" she squeaked. "Not in front of the young adults"

Dawn kept laughing as she leaned over and explained to Martin in a stage whisper. "Willow is gay and we're trying to get her a girlfriend" Martin just blushed a little and nodded in a wise manner as if he came across this sort of thing every day.

"Dawn" Willow squeaked again and looked aghast at the youngster. "First of all I don't think Martin wants to know and secondly I can find a girlfriend all by myself, I don't think you guys are going to be much of a help"

Giles looked a little hurt. "I'm hurt that you don't want to learn from a master" he waggled an eyebrow and waited to see how she would react.

Willow checked herself just before she launched into a detailed discussion of his success with the ladies, including Dawn's mother! "I don't want a girlfriend so this discussion will resume along normal, safe, teenager-type lines for the duration or I will make it my business to tell Buffy before your next training session"

Dawn sighed and leaned towards Martin again. "Giles taught Buffy some karate when she was younger and they still train whenever he comes to visit" 

Martin nodded but didn't look convinced that this explanation covered all of the undertones in the conversation.

Giles took pity on the young man and started a discussion on their science projects to get him back onto familiar territory. He tuned out a little as the three became animated about some sort of enzyme reaction and he ran through the previous conversation, realising that he was trying to push the boundaries of his relationships to fit into the mold of their current situation. He didn't want to continue only as the `go to guy' whenever something evil reared its head in Sunnydale, he wanted to foster more adult relationships with all of them. He acknowledged that Willow was going to prove quite an interesting challenge as his relationship with her had changed beyond his wildest imagination but he was also aware of a need to have a serious conversation with Buffy. She had been quite jumpy since his return and he had put this down to her concerns over Willow and the problem they were investigating. However, the more he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that she was also not quite sure how to react to him as something other than a Watcher.

Dawn nudged him with her elbow. "Giles?" she said, obviously for the second time. "Are you finished, we need to get home soon or Buffy will start to worry"

He came back to the present and looked around the others. "Sorry I was miles away" he smiled. "Did you sort out your science project?" he asked politely as he held out his hand to help Dawn escape the clutches of the faux leather seat. 

Martin moved next to him to take Dawn's bag from her and nodded. "Willow came up with some neat ideas, I think I'll head straight home to start work on them"

Dawn pouted a little and moved a few steps away to retrieve her bag and make her goodbyes.

Willow sighed and turned to Giles as he laughed at her. "I know, I always get all nostalgic for that time in my life when I should just run screaming from the memories of high school" she smiled a little and moved ahead of him to leave the coffee shop.

"Willow those were some of the best years of your life, you finally realised that you weren't an ugly duckling and that being smart could actually make a difference in many important ways, not just keeping your mother and father happy" he reassured her.

She nodded and turned to make sure Dawn was behind them. She grinned and nudged Giles as the youngsters quickly shared a chaste kiss before heading in opposite directions. She was still grinning when Dawn joined them and nudged her as well. "Was Martin OK with meeting the olds?" she whispered.

Dawn put her arm through Willow's and pulled her closer. "He really likes you, especially after the project thing. Thanks for including him in the invite" She turned to look at Giles. "He also said he thought you were quite cool after we told him about the sword fighting and stuff"

Giles looked a little confused. "I know my mind was on other things but what exactly did you tell him?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear this or not.

Willow giggled as Dawn explained. "Just that you were an old family friend who was a fencing master at Oxford and you were visiting to make sure we were all safe and well and that we had plenty of new shoes for the upcoming winter" Dawn smiled sweetly at him.

"Am I to take it from that, that the Mall trip is planned for this weekend?" he asked with a resigned sigh. When they both nodded he shrugged his shoulders and put his hands in his pockets. "Martin must think me very brave and dashing if you told him about the shoe shopping" he smiled and walked a little ahead before turning with a wicked smile to deliver his coup de grace. "However, when Buffy finds out you were kissing a member of the science club in the coffee shop I suspect you will be grounded for about ten years" 

"Hey, nobody ever bothered when Tara did it!" Dawn exclaimed and then held her breath. She didn't normally mention her friend when Willow was around but hoped that the time was right to start doing so. She carefully watched Willow's face and saw the initial pain cross her face to be replaced with something a lot more welcome. 

Willow was shocked by the casual use of Tara's name out of the blue but then she registered what Dawn had said. "Hey, wait a minute, I wasn't a science geek by the time I met Tara, I was all cool and at college and sophisticated and how come my love life comes back into the discussion again anyway?" She paused for a breath and couldn't help but join in the laughter of the others.

Giles headed for the kitchen when they arrived home, to find Buffy preparing dinner. "Do you need a hand?" he asked as he moved to wash his hands at the sink. "Willow and Dawn have gone to catalogue their current wardrobes and cross-reference their requirements for the Mall weekend" 

Buffy smiled at him. "You shouldn't let Dawn get carried away, she'll max out your cards at the first shop"

He took over the preparation of some vegetables and she leaned against the counter watching his hands. "I don't mind and it makes up for the times I can't be with her" he concentrated for a moment on slicing and dicing. "Anyway, it's not just Dawn, you and Willow are to be allowed to join the great shopping trip as well"

Buffy smiled at him. "I don't need any more shoes, I'm just glad to have you here and for everyone to be happy instead of in mortal danger"

He looked incredulously at her and held up two knives in a crucifix formation. "You don't need shoes???? Get away from me you fiend!" he mimed pushing her back towards the door.

She swatted him with a dishtowel. "OK, perhaps I was exaggerating a little, but you know you don't have to take us shopping, you just have to be here"

He put the knives down and pulled the dishtowel from her shoulder to dry his hands. "I know Buffy but I just want to do things that we don't normally get the opportunity for. Shopping trips to the Mall may seem a strange way to clutter up my holiday but I never got to do any of that with you when you were Dawn's age"

She watched him as he leaned against the worktops and crossed his arms. "You were too busy teaching me to save lives and protecting mine" she suggested and pulled open the fridge. "Besides, how would you have explained shopping for clothes with two of your students?"

"Good point" he nodded and accepted a glass of juice from her. "But it doesn't mean that I didn't miss having a closer relationship with any of you than we were able to achieve. I never wanted to be your father, although god knows you could have used one over the last few years" he allowed the anger at Hank's lack of interest to show a little more than usual. "But I think we have all reached the stage where we can take a step back from the constant worry over the next apocalypse and try to reconstruct our relationships as adults?"

Buffy nodded. She had never before seen his anger over her father's disappearance from her life and felt a little reassured that she wasn't the only one who thought it worthy of simmering resentment. He had also touched on some of her own feelings over the last few weeks when she had been aware of his visit as causing a strange presentiment of change in their future dealings with each other. They stood quietly drinking their juice for a few moments, both running through their current situation in their minds. "I think I know what you mean" she finally suggested. "I've been feeling a bit weird for the last few weeks, I was scared we wouldn't have anything to talk about when you weren't here for business" she looked up and met his eyes, catching the pain that flitted across his face. "But I knew that something was wrong with me for thinking that way and I was trying to let go and be one with the fun even before you came in here and got all Buddha with the veggies"

"Buddha?" he asked a little worriedly. "I remind you of a bald, plump little god?"

"Well you are getting on a bit old man" she started to giggle. "Actually I was meaning all self-aware and holistic" she smiled, quite proud that she had come up with the big word in the end.

He shuddered slightly and took his glasses off before vigorously polishing them. "Even after all these years, your innate ability to mangle the English language amazes me. I was never able to teach you to improve your vocabulary but you have taught me to understand yours and I don't know what is more upsetting" he replaced his glasses and shook his head. "Before you ruin this moment, can I just say that I am enjoying this trip more than I had dared hoped and I include the upcoming weekend plans"

"Oh good" she sighed and carried some dishes towards the table. "Cause you know I was joking about the shoes and the not needing thing, don't you?"

He shook his head and followed her with some more plates, shouting for Dawn and Willow to join them for dinner.


	13. Chapter 13

Xander joined them after dinner to hear the outcome of their visit earlier that day. He looked genuinely upset when Willow gently told him about Mike's death and turned sharply towards Giles. "You can find a way to get the thing that did this, right?"

Giles, relaxing on the sofa as jet lag threatened to overtake him again, nodded and moved to place his mug on the coffee table. "I have asked some of my colleagues at the council to check some references for me and Willow and I will make the first pass at figuring this out tomorrow"

"Why not now?" Xander asked quietly. "It wouldn't be the first time we had pulled an all-nighter when people's lives were at stake"

Buffy, snuggled in the armchair, looked at him over the rim of her mug. "Xander if Giles says we wait, then we wait"

Willow looked up as well. "We're both pooped after today's mojo and the next bit will take a lot of concentration so it would be best to wait until Giles and I are rested"

Xander looked set to argue when Giles stifled a yawn. "Honestly Xander, I have gone over the frequency of the attacks and their outcomes and I think we can afford the risk to take our time and be careful with this"

"Besides" Buffy smiled sweetly, hoping to cut through some of the tension. "The professor isn't getting any younger"

Giles glared at the girls as all three started to laugh. Xander looked a little confused but the change in atmosphere seemed to calm him a little and he was soon persuading Willow to tell all about her subterfuge and the ensuing spectacle of Giles being a `babe magnet'. Willow didn't need much persuasion and soon both Dawn and Buffy were helpless as she performed her over the top version of Mrs Wayne.

After an hour Xander said he would accompany Buffy on her patrol and Dawn yawned and headed off to bed, mumbling about needing to pace herself before the big weekend shopping trip. Willow and Giles were scrunched down at either end of the sofa and neither could really be bothered moving too much. 

"Don't wait up for me, I think I'll take a longer patrol tonight, cover the outlying cemeteries at the edge of town" Buffy said as she grabbed her jacket from behind the door.

"Do you think there are likely to be any problems out there?" Giles asked, his interest piqued a little by the change to her usual routine.

"She just wants to make sure she gets a couple of good fights in" yawned Willow. "Helps her sleep" she smiled cheekily at Buffy.

Giles' eyebrows rose a little and he glanced at Willow quickly before turning back towards Buffy. "Make sure you are careful. You always prolong the fights unnecessarily when you get like this"

Xander appeared from the kitchen with a packet of chips and looked around the slightly bemused faces in the living room. "What's the what guys, are we going on patrol or not?"

Willow was the first to recover and tore her glance away from an embarrassed looking Buffy to Xander. "Oh, nothing’s up, Giles was just joining in the girl chat, perhaps you should get going?" 

Buffy shook her head to clear her thoughts and vowed to spend a little time explaining the new boundaries to Giles and avoiding Willow's questions as much as she could. She mumbled something about seeing them in the morning and pulled Xander out the door.

Willow turned to look at Giles, her head resting against the back of the sofa. "I don't think Buffy was very happy with the new `sharing' you?" she suggested.

He took a deep breath and shook his head slowly. "What did I say this time?" he asked in a slightly resigned tone. "Surely she hasn't forgotten so much about our early patrols and training sessions?"

"I don't want any details but she will probably choose the expensive shoe shop to wreak her revenge" Willow smiled as he grimaced. "What on earth possessed you to say it out loud?" she asked and then checked herself. "I mean, I'm assuming you actually aren't possessed or anything?" she leaned across and pinched him.

"That's not really a valid test for possession, you know?" he grumbled as he rubbed his arm. "I don't know, do you think I could get away with blaming the jet lag?"

Willow shook her head and stood to clear some of the mugs. "What I can't understand is how you could know about this and I didn't get it until Faith blurted it out at the Bronze"

"Faith told you that Buffy gets�.." he stumbled to a halt, not sure there was any way to finish the sentence and still be sane at the end of it.

"No" Willow vigorously shook her head. "And eeuuww" she shuddered at the thought of the two slayers being that close. "Faith was a little more open to the physical side of slaying and she was telling us one night all about the buzz from her fights and just sort of let slip that she sometimes got hungry and ho.." she ground to a halt as well, not sure she could use the word in front of him. There followed a rather uncomfortable silence until Willow sat down in the armchair and pulled her knees up to her chin. "How did you know about it?" she asked quietly, not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.

His head rose quickly and he met her eyes. "It wasn't a regular part of slayer awareness training but one of the more recent watcher diaries touched upon it briefly and I tried to discuss it with Buffy. However, that proved beyond even our legendary ability to communicate and we finally got around to mutually agreeing never to discuss it" Willow nodded her head, relieved and unsure why, and continued to stare at him. He became uncomfortable under her gaze and looked down at his hands, resting on his knees. "So much for my high expectations of a more adult relationship" he sighed and stood up slowly. "Looks like I've just ruined any chance of Buffy or you seeing me as anything other than a strange old man who knows too many of the skeletons in your closets"

Willow stood as well and stretched her legs a little. "I don't need a closet anymore and I never saw you as that" she smiled and started moving around the room, putting lights out and checking windows were closed. "I'd like to think that we had an almost adult relationship right from the very beginning and, although it has grown over the years, it didn't need much tinkering to keep it on the right track"

"You saw me as a father figure" he suggested quietly and moved towards her as she shook her head in disagreement. "You even taunted me for it when you were overcome with the dark magics"

Willow stopped on the second stair and turned back to him. "Giles, I was out of my mind, bent on destroying every part of our friendship even before I tried to destroy you" she took a deep breath. "I thought you understood that I regretted the things I said to you more than what I did to you?" she put her hand out to the banister and rested it on his. "Your physical wounds were bad enough but I could help to nurse them, there isn't any way to make you forget what I said and I know that, but I had hoped that we had started again and were almost back to trusting one another?"

He glanced at where her hand met his and the common link in all of her strange behaviour suddenly came to him. He took an involuntary step back and pulled his hand away. "It was me," he said quietly and looked up at her in confusion. "Every time you jumped or looked scared today it was because I was near you, touching you"

Willow started to deny this suggestion but she could see the certainty in his eyes and finally sat down on the stair in resignation. "I don't know what is wrong with me" she admitted. "When that woman started paying attention to you earlier I found it quite funny to start with and then it got icky and then I got all jealous" she looked up to watch his reaction. "I know I don't have any right to get jealous about you but I wasn't consciously doing anything, it was all coming from some weird place inside my head and I...�" she ground to a halt and seemed to be deep in thought for several moments, her eyes looking at, but not seeing him. Finally, she slowly shook her head and seemed to come to a decision of some kind. She ran her hand through her hair "It's happened so suddenly" she started then checked herself. "Or, actually, it has happened so slowly over such a long period of time that I didn't even notice it until just now" she looked up into his eyes. "I've missed you so much since I got back and seeing you again reminded me"

He seemed a little surprised and then realised that his body was incapable of processing any new data and keeping him upright so he sank onto the bottom stair and leaned against the wall. 

"This is completely ridiculous and can't be happening," she said, suddenly angry with herself.

"What do you mean?" he said quietly, determined to push her to make the first move in whatever was happening. 

"I mean" she continued. "I can't possibly be falling in love with you, I still have dreams about Tara and they aren't just floaty, smiley dreams they are technicolor, full action with surround sound dreams" she stood up again and pushed past him to pace in the bottom hallway. "I mean I'm gay, right, so that means that I like girls, right, and you're a guy which means that I can't possibly want to kiss behind your ear just to hear what sound you make in your throat" she took a deep breath and turned towards him. "Right!"

His head had decided to put everything after the word `love' into a buffer to be downloaded and dealt with later. "You're falling in love with me?" he asked and found his mouth suddenly dry.

"No" she practically shouted and then remembered Dawn upstairs and beckoned him into the kitchen. "I just explained that I can't be" she stood with her back to the fridge and he hovered uncertainly near the door. "It must be something else and I'm just muddled up because you're back here and everything is going well and we did the spell together today and.." she ground to a halt unable to come up with any other excuses.

They stood silently for a few moments until he finally picked up on the rest of her previous outburst. "You want to kiss me?" he whispered fiercely and moved further into the room.

Willow groaned and covered her face with her hands. "It's wrong" she mumbled and turned to rest her forehead against the fridge. "How can I feel this way about you and still be in love with Tara?" He could hear the complete confusion in her voice and knew that this was at the root of her recent behaviour.

"Willow" he murmured softly as he moved to stand behind her. "Please turn around, I can't do this without seeing your eyes" he rested his hand on her shoulder and felt the shudder going through her again.

It took several moments, during which he didn't think she was going to react to him before she finally turned around and dropped her hands to her sides. Her face bore a look of anguish but he could also see the blush that suggested a raised pulse and could tell that her breathing was a little more belaboured than before. "I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable and I would die rather than ruin our friendship.." he paused.

"You've got but face" she smiled weakly at him and raised her hand to run her index finger down his cheek.

"But" he smiled at her. "I need to know whether our feelings are mutual and what your concerns really are before we can work out what to do about this"

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I would guess the mutual part's the easy one to get out of the way first, I know you can't possibly feel the same for me and I wish I could find some way to get rid of these feelings and go back to being your friend"

He lifted her hand and pulled her palm to his lips, gently kissing it, his eyes seeking out and holding hers. Her breathing got shallower and considerably faster as the look of shock on her face eventually transformed into one of desire. "Perhaps we should leave this until the morning when we are both� rested?" he suggested, very aware of how close he was to forgetting his good intentions and pulling her tight against his own body there and then.

"Ehm" she mumbled as he continued to plant tiny kisses on her palm. "Perhaps that would be for the best because it has been a very long day and you are jet lagged and I think I definitely need to lie down right now" she took a deep breath and gently pulled her hand from his. She stared down at her hand, expecting to see it looking different somehow and then looked back up into his eyes. "Oh yes, definitely some discussing to do in the morning" she mumbled and slipped past him towards the stairs.

"Goodnight Willow" he mumbled some minutes later when he could finally find his breath and his voice. He was having difficulty believing that he had encouraged her to stop and knew that it would have taken very little persuasion for her to take things a step further. "Bugger" he mumbled to himself as he slowly climbed the stairs and walked past her room to get to his bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Buffy awoke the next morning to find Willow sitting at her dressing table staring into the mirror. "Mornin" she mumbled as she rolled over to check the bedside clock. "Hey it's almost ten, why didn't you wake me?" she asked as she ran her hands through her hair and stifled another yawn.

Willow seemed to be working in slow motion as she turned around and looked at Buffy. "Hey sleepy head, I thought you were never going to wake up"

Buffy scrunched her eyes up and stared back at Willow. "Did Dawn get to school OK?" 

"I guess so" Willow shrugged and returned to looking in the mirror. "I heard Giles and her talking earlier and I kinda assumed he would remember the drill"

Buffy got up and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Will are you OK, has something happened?"

"Not really" Willow sighed and shrugged again. "Do I look any different to you?" she asked as she continued to stare.

Buffy moved to look at her friend's reflection in the mirror before gently pulling her shoulders round to look straight into her face. "Did you try a glamour spell and it's gone kablooey?" she asked, concerned, and tried to make out any perceptible difference in her face. When she didn't get any response she gently shook her shoulders. "Willow, you're starting to freak me out, what's wrong?"

The sudden movement and the hint of panic in Buffy's voice seemed to bring the rational part of Willow's mind back to the fore. "Nothing really, or actually, everything really" she paused. "Perhaps it would be better if you sat down and just listened to what I have to say?" Willow suggested.

Buffy nodded and then started shaking her head. "Give me two minutes, I'll be right back" she smiled and headed at speed for the bathroom. "Okey, dokey" she tried to lighten the mood a little as she came back into the room. She had had a little time to waken properly and knew that with anything really serious, Willow would have involved Giles by now. "Total listening gal on duty," she said as she sat on the edge of her bed.

Willow nodded and started to pace nervously. She started to speak twice before changing her mind and pacing in the other direction. Eventually, just as Buffy was about to start shaking her again, she sat back down on the chair and took a deep breath. "OK, I don't know how to tell you this and it will probably ruin our friendship but I think the best way is just to tell you straight out, would that be OK with you?" she smiled as if she felt a little better now that she had started.

Buffy looked completely bewildered and didn't even try to follow the logic. "Whatever is easiest for you Will, but I think if our friendship is still going strong it is pretty indestructible, so hurry up and spit it out"

Willow seemed to consider her friend's answer before giving an almost imperceptible nod. "The thing is" she started slowly. "I think I have feelings for Giles and I think it's kind of been happening for a while, probably even before I tried to end the world, but the whole `being in love with Tara' thing sort of threw me" She settled back into the chair as she got into her rhythm. "Every time I felt fuzzy feelings I just assumed they were all for Tara and, obviously most of them were, her being my girlfriend and me being very much in love with her and everything" She stopped for a breath and was relieved to note that Buffy didn't try to interrupt. "Anyway it turns out that I'm still getting the fuzzies and they're not all for Tara anymore, although I still get Tara fuzzies, they seem to be Giles fuzzies now and so�," she seemed to be nearing the end and Buffy had turned into some kind of statue. "What I want to know is how can I be kinda straight again and why don't I look any different?" she ended in a whisper and finally looked up to see what Buffy's reaction was.

"Giles" was all her friend said. Then she started to shake her head. "No" she seemed to be having an argument inside her head and was vocalising the highlights. "Nope, not going to happen" After several moments of slowly more definite shakes Buffy finally seemed to realise that Willow had stopped talking and was staring at her. "Willow," she said quietly and took a deep breath. "Let me get this straight" she winced as her friend flinched from her use of the word. "You and Giles are an item?"

"No" Willow mumbled. "Over the last few days I've been feeling kind of funny when he's around but I just assumed I was excited to have him visit. Yesterday when the woman at the home was all over him I kind of flipped and I couldn't understand why" she looked up to see Buffy still sitting, in shock, on the end of her bed. "Last night, after you went out on patrol we sort of chatted about his knowing you were, well.." she ground to a halt and could feel the blush starting in her neck. Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before signaling her friend to continue. "Anyway, he was a bit down and seemed to think you would be pretty mad with him and you would go back to being watcher and slayer instead of friends"

Buffy shook her head. "So it's my fault you've got the hots for him?" she asked a little incredulously.

Willow vigorously shook her head and seemed frustrated that she wasn't explaining this very well. "No, of course not" she mumbled. "He seemed to think we all thought of him as some kind of uber dad and then we had a disagreement over how I felt about him and then I'm telling him exactly how I feel about him and then we were just kind of standing really close and he was kissing my hand and then.."

"He kissed you?" Buffy asked, and a part of her mind was impressed that she was still able to form sentences at this stage. 

"I was trying to apologise to him for letting my crush get out of hand and making him feel uncomfortable when he started to kiss my hand and made it quite plain that it wasn't necessarily one-sided" Willow took another deep breath and met Buffy's eyes. "Do you hate me?" she asked simply.

Buffy was still processing the kissing information and took a second or two to tune into Willow's question. "Of course I don't hate you," she said and finally moved from her seat to kneel in front of Willow. "I just need a second or two to get used to this, that's all"

Willow nodded and smiled a little. "You need some time?" she asked sarcastically. "How do you think I feel?"

"How do you feel?" Buffy asked and cocked her head to one side. "I mean is this just the high school crush rearing its head again?"

Willow took a moment to think about her answer. "I've loved him as a close friend for years now, and the schoolgirl crush kind of went away when Oz came on the scene" she admitted with a smile. "It's just recently that I've realised how much he means to me and I know some of the feelings are residual guilt from the Magic Box. But I think some of the other stuff feels an awful lot like�." Willow paused as if finally putting this into words in front of Buffy would be an irrevocable step. 

"Love?" Buffy supplied, slightly less freaked out but still disbelieving.

Willow nodded and sighed. "This all came kind of crashing into my head late last night and it all feels new and old in a weird kind of way. But I swear, if he hadn't suggested we stop to think about what we were doing, I would have done more than kiss his hand"

Buffy couldn't stifle the grin that was finally coming through. "Willow!" she shouted and then realised who they were talking about "Eeeuuww, please no details" she begged as she returned to the bed to lie on it facing her friend. "What about him not being a her?" she asked.

"Oh yes" Willow nodded and rolled her eyes. "As if falling in love with Giles wasn't weird enough I now have no idea if I am gay or not. Surely you can't just switch this on and off?"

Buffy shrugged and rested her chin on her hands, thinking for a moment or two. "Perhaps you don't need to define it, you're just who you are"

Willow took a minute to think about this and then motioned for Buffy to move over in the bed. They both leaned against the headboard and stared at their toes. "The biggest problem is that I'm in love with two people and not that one of them is male and one's female" Willow admitted.

"Tara" Buffy guessed and shook her head when Willow started to get a little teary. "I think she would want you to be happy with whoever you choose"

"It was her biggest fear and I can't help thinking I've let her down by choosing a man" Willow decided to off-load some of her guilt. "The day that Glory got to her we had argued and Tara had walked out, she accused me of trying out the gay thing as a fad and she was afraid that someday I would realise it was all a big mistake and leave her"

Buffy felt herself choking up and took a shaky breath before putting her hand on Willow's arm. "But you brought her back from the hell she was in and you were both happy again, she wouldn't have wanted you to avoid the chance of happiness for the rest of your life just to prove a point"

They sat in silence for a minute or two, each of them deep in thought over the conversation. "So do you hate me?" Willow asked again.

"Will" Buffy sighed. "I don't hate you but this is going to take a while to sort through in my head because I didn't ever think of Giles as possible boyfriend material for anyone and I'm not sure I can adjust to it now" she admitted.

Willow sighed. "I know, I remember how mad you were when you found Olivia at his place, but I just kind of assumed that some of that was jealousy"

Buffy turned to stare at her. "How could you think that?" she asked, stuck somewhere between shock and indignation. "Giles and I were never�." she struggled to find a word to describe what they had never been to each other. "He is way older than me and getting better with the clothing issue, but still. And he has the whole, staying in with a book being a good night, thing going on" she ground to a halt as she saw Willow struggling not to grin. "You thought Giles and I were together types?" she pinned Willow with a fierce glare.

Willow shook her head and struggled to wipe the grin off her face. "It's just that he is older than me and I think he looks kind of cute in his suits, I always loved the tweed and the book thing?" she raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "And no, I don't think you and Giles were ever smoochie buddies but I did wonder if you would ever be happy if he found someone else to share his life, to spend time with and concentrate on and�" she paused to look at the raised eyebrow of her friend. "Now you see this started out as me needing your help and advice and I'm guessing that I'm losing some of the sympathy at this stage?"

Buffy shook her head. "I admit that finding Olivia was a bit of a shock but it happened at a really difficult time for me and he ended up leaving me anyway, even without a significant other to blur the loyalties" Buffy ended sadly. 

Willow seemed to think about this for a while and finally stood up at the side of the bed. "So we are OK about this?" she asked and waited for Buffy to look up.

"I think I can handle my best friend having a new honey but I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with Giles being the honey in question" she admitted. "Can we just leave it at that for now?" she asked and checked the clock again. "If we don't go down soon he's going to wonder what's going on" Buffy stood as well and started to pull clothing from her closet. "How did you leave it with him last night?" she asked over her shoulder.

"We said we would think about what we were doing and talk about it this morning" Willow admitted glumly. "But I have no idea what I'm going to say to him"

Buffy dragged her towards the bathroom. "Get in the shower and think fast, I'll go and see if the coffee is on, I think you're allowed caffeine today"

Giles looked up to see Buffy descending the stairs. He must have looked a little disappointed because Buffy shook her head and headed for the kitchen. He followed her and watched as she pulled the coffee maker over and started to fill it. "Is she OK?" he asked and saw her tense a little. "Buffy I'm sorry that this is going to complicate things but I need to know if Willow is OK this morning, if she despises me I can be packed and gone in half an hour"

Buffy turned and looked at him. "Don't leave" she said quietly and took a glass of juice through to the living room. He followed her, nervous about her apparent lack of emotion.

"I'm sure you think my behaviour is completely inappropriate and I would understand if you wanted to take me outside and thrash me" he seemed to sink further into his misery as he wasn't getting any reaction from her. "Please say something?" he finally gave in and begged her.

"Willow will be down in a few minutes and she is a little confused but I don't think she'd want me to beat up on a potential boyfriend just yet" Buffy took a sip of juice before pointing at him. "However, don't think a good thrashing isn't going to come your way if you ever hurt her"

Giles kept his head bowed and took a couple of deep breaths. "I'm sorry Buffy, I never meant for this to happen" 

"This is just a new thing for you then?" she asked.

He lifted his head in one sharp movement and met her questioning gaze. "No, the feelings are not new and it's not just a flash in the pan infatuation" he admitted. "What I meant was that I had become very proficient at hiding my feelings towards Willow and I didn't think I would ever get the chance to admit them to anyone, least of all her"

Buffy continued to stare at him and was trying to picture him as Willow and others obviously saw him. She remembered Faith's first reaction to him and how Jenny and Olivia had looked at him. She shook her head and ran her hand through her hair. "I just don't get it" she finally mumbled and caught his questioning look. "I mean, you're Giles and I admit that we aren't school kids anymore and you're not the librarian any more but this is just a step too far for me right now" She stood and headed for the stairs "I'm going to take a long hot shower, I'll be upstairs for the rest of the morning"

Giles nodded and returned to pacing in front of the fireplace. He knew that Buffy was probably going to be harder to win over than Willow. It was just as he was trying to figure out a way to explain things to her that he suddenly stopped dead and put his hands over his eyes. "Xander," he said and groaned out loud.

"I would expect you to be groaning like that only if I'm on your mind, not Xander" Willow said quietly as she stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Willow, ah, I didn't see, or hear or see you there" he stumbled and looked at her. "You look lovely, are you feeling OK?" he asked and watched as she stood a little dumbfounded at the bottom of the stairs.

"You may want to schedule a little homework on the flattery thing" she shook her head and turned towards the kitchen. "Did Buffy put the coffee on?" she asked and sighed when she saw the pot on the worktop. "Would you like a little of the hard stuff, I didn't sleep very well last night and I think this might be just what I need" Willow was quite proud of the adult thing she was pulling off, perhaps the drama course she had taken to fill up her timetable wasn't a total loss after all. Her stomach was doing backflips and the only thing keeping her in one piece was the way that Giles was obviously struggling just as much as her. She inhaled deeply over her coffee and closed her eyes to savour the aroma. "Are you OK?" she asked quietly as she pulled a stool to the counter and sipped the hot coffee. He was standing at the kitchen sink, his arms crossed over his chest and an anguished look on his face. She shook her head. "Look, I'm prepared to forget last night ever happened if that's what you want but it would be best for our continued friendship if we got this off our chests and communicated with each other"

He seemed to think on this for a moment before nodding his agreement and pouring himself a coffee. "I can forget last night as well if that's what you want but I would prefer to remember it as the first step on a journey we should take together"

Willow exhaled loudly and finally allowed herself to smile a little. "I was hoping you would say that" she announced. "Look this is going to be weird for everyone but I think it's worth us taking the risk and seeing where it goes"

He took his glasses off and cleaned them before looking back at her. "I need you to know that I have had these feelings for you for a year or more now and it's not some sort of reaction to our closeness this summer" he began and raised his hand to stop her interruption. "I am also painfully aware of all of the barriers to this being anywhere near a good idea, many of them I would agree with myself. However, there is a large part of me that doesn't care about any of that and is prepared to put up with anything that fate can throw at us to make this work"

Willow nodded and took another sip of her coffee. "I'll see your barriers and raise you a few you haven't even thought of but I wouldn't be sitting with you now if I didn't think we had a chance to make each other happy"

He put his hand out to touch hers and took a deep breath. "Let's go for a walk, I always think better when I'm moving" 

"OK, I'll just go and let Buffy know what we're doing" she smiled at him and took her coffee upstairs with her. "Buffy" she hissed through the bathroom door only for it to open with a rush of steam a few seconds later. 

Buffy pulled her into the room and finished wrapping her hair in a towel. "Is everything alright, do I need to kick his butt?" she asked and Willow could see that she was serious.

"No, we are going to go for a long walk and try to talk this through so I don't really know, but he seems to think that last night was not a forgettable situation" she smiled a little and handed Buffy the coffee mug. "You look as if you could use this about now" she suggested and headed towards the bedroom to collect her jacket.

Giles had both hands stuffed in his jacket pockets and was waiting on the front porch when she came back downstairs. He reached for her jacket and held it for her to put on, his finger lightly brushing against her neck as he straightened her collar. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his racing heartbeat before looking down at her amused face as she stared at him. 

"Perhaps we should keep the possible touching situations to a minimum if you are determined to take this outside?" she suggested. "I don't know about you but I'm getting fairly buzzed already and we're not even off of the property yet"

"I'm sorry" he smiled. "Actually I'm not, but I agree to behave myself for the rest of the day until we sort this out" he stuffed his hands back in his jacket pockets and deliberately took two steps away from her.

She shook her head and pulled the door closed behind her. "Let's head for the centre of town, I have a feeling that another coffee will be required before much longer"

They walked in silence for a few minutes, trying to clear their heads and hoping the other one would begin. 

"Do you think I'm a dirty old man?" he asked finally, determined to just get the question out into the open and deal with whatever resulted.

"Do I look like the kind of girl who is attracted to dirty old men?" she asked him in return, trying to keep her tone light but a little annoyed at his question. 

"Up until eleven last night, my best guess would have been that you were attracted to dirty old women" he couldn't stop the words, even as they passed his lips he knew that it was probably the stupidest thing he had ever said. However, part of his mind was keen to hear the answer.

Willow winced and felt her anger building within her. "That's not fair" she blurted out. "I can't explain how this has happened, I don't have any control over my heart and I don't think it cares about gender or preferences"

"That's convenient" he muttered under his breath and was even more aware of a small voice inside his head screaming for him to shut up.

"Giles, I already offered to end this but you said we needed to talk" she stopped walking and waited for him to turn to look at her. "Do I really need to show you my 100% hetero certificate before you will even talk to me?"

"I just need to know that this isn't a reaction to any of what we've been through over the past few months" he finally admitted. "You can't deny that you were in a long term, loving relationship with a woman less than a year ago and that we have been in close proximity even more recently than that" He realised that he had raised his voice and tried to rein in his emotions. "It would be perfectly reasonable for you to still be feeling guilty about what happened and also responsible for my future well-being as a penance for your attack"

Willow could feel her temper spiraling dangerously and consciously tried to dampen it. "Of course I feel guilty, we've talked about it, but do you really think so little of me that you imagine I would offer my heart, body, and soul to someone just to assuage the guilt, as a peace offering?" She was really starting to lose it now and could feel tears pricking her eyes. "I can't help the fact that I'm seriously attracted to you on a physical, emotional and intellectual level. It's as much of a surprise to me that you have the wrong chromosome balance, and it is obviously something you can't deal with so I'll be at Xander's if Buffy needs to see me before you leave" she turned and started walking back towards the house.

He watched her receding figure as she bypassed the house and continued walking, her shoulders hunched and obviously sobbing. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself out loud and threw his hands in the air. "Oh, bloody hell" he burst out as he started to run after her. "Willow?" he shouted and was painfully aware of several neighbours watching his progress. "Willow please slow down" he puffed a little and remembered that he hadn't trained with anybody in a while and certainly hadn't chased a woman in even longer.

She had turned to watch him as he pounded up to her and tried to catch his breath. "I'm sorry" he panted. "I don't know what came over me" he leaned his hands on his thighs and bent over a little.

"Terminal stupidity?" she suggested and turned to walk away again, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Oh god, please don't cry" he begged and caught up with her in a couple of strides, handing her his handkerchief. "I can't stand it when you cry"

Willow blew her nose noisily and stuffed the handkerchief in her pocket. "Do you really think you are a charity case and I'm desperate enough to atone for my actions that I would cast aside everything that Tara meant to me to put it out for you?" she surprised herself with the venom in the question. He shook his head and tried to get the conversation back under control but she was determined to have her say. "I may be oblivious girl about most guy things but I'm fairly sure that you weren't acting last night so why are you deliberately killing this before it has a chance?"

He didn't answer her directly but took a deep breath and tried to explain the root of his uneasiness. "I always knew that losing one of you would be the hardest thing I would ever have to endure and I thought that Buffy's death would finish me" he took another deep breath to gather himself. "However, when the coven contacted me about their concerns and I checked into them I could tell it was Tara immediately. I was shocked and more scared than I have ever been in my life because I knew the depth of feelings you had for each other and I knew you would destroy yourself before you would forgive yourself"

Willow had a haunted look on her face. "I tried to destroy the world, not just myself. And it didn't work, I'll never be able to forgive myself"

"I know that you will blame yourself for the rest of your life but I need you to understand that it is possible to be happy again without destroying everything you had with Tara" he took his glasses off and put them in his pocket. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier but I'm a little confused about this turn of events as well. I've loved you for a long time with the certainty that you would never reciprocate and never know of my feelings" he ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "I got so used to the feelings of unrequited love that I just assumed they would be with me for the rest of my life as I watched you grow older with your girlfriend" he sighed. "When you offered me an outlet for my feelings last night I jumped at the chance without thinking things through and I'm just trying to make sure that you are sure before we take this any further"

She didn't answer him, but she didn't walk away again either so he took this as a sign that he was having some success. "Willow I don't want to make this any harder for you, all I can say is that I love you and want you and will abide by whatever decision you make on the outcome of today"

"You want me?" she asked with a scowl on her face. "What I can't understand is how I can have erotic dreams about my girlfriend and still wake up wanting to kiss you?" her voice cracked a little. "I don't have any answers here Giles but I need to work through my feelings and I admit to being selfish enough in hoping that you would help me with that" she turned to meet his eyes. "I'm really sorry but I don't think I have the energy to persuade you that my feelings are valid when I can't even persuade myself" She turned and walked back towards the house, this time opening the front door and disappearing inside.

He waited for a few moments before turning and continuing towards the centre of town. 

Buffy heard the door open and peeked over the banister to see a disconsolate Willow trudging into the living room. She heard the sobbing start before she could throw on some sweats and run downstairs. For several minutes she held Willow in her arms, murmuring soothing sounds to try and slow the tears. Eventually, Willow was only sniffling a little and Buffy pulled back, keeping her hands on her shoulders. "What happened?" she asked softly and watched her friend gather herself before moving to sit next to her on the sofa.

"We talked in the kitchen earlier and he said he wanted to explore what we had both admitted to" she began and hiccuped a final sob. "We started walking and he asked if I thought he was a dirty old man and then suggested I would normally go for dirty old women and then he said some more horrible things and now I don't know what I want and I don't know where he went and this was a terrible idea and we should just all forget it ever happened" she started to sob again.

"Number one," Buffy said as she stroked Willow's hair "He'd better have brought his painkillers with him cause I am going to kick his butt up and down town for saying that to you" she lifted Willow's chin to meet her eyes. "Number two, you are a good person and you deserve some happiness, even if you do have terrible taste in men" she smiled at her friend and was rewarded with a watery smile back. "Number three, you need to sort out what you want before you talk to him again. He works better when there are rules and guidelines to follow"

Willow nodded and used his handkerchief to wipe her eyes before taking a deep breath. "OK" she tried to sound positive. "I need to get a pen and some paper and start dealing with this methodically" she nodded.

Buffy seemed a little surprised but headed for the dining room to find the materials. She turned round to find Willow standing behind her and handed her the notebook and pen. "Do you need anything else?" she asked.

Willow nodded. "I think we both need another mug of coffee and then we will work this out properly"

Buffy brought the coffee back to find Willow sitting at the table, drawing a line down the middle of the page. "Left side is `for' and right side is `against'" she explained as Buffy curled up in a chair next to her. 

They both sat looking at each other for a few moments before Buffy held up her hand. "He is really smart" she smiled and Willow nodded eagerly and put this under the left hand heading. "But he was also really stupid this morning?" Buffy suggested a little warily and Willow chewed the end of the pen for a moment before writing in the right-hand column. Buffy leaned across and looked over her shoulder "Emotionally retarded?" she read and looked up at Willow in surprise.

"My list, my words," Willow said succinctly and then wrote another item in the `for'. "His singing voice is a definite plus" she sighed.

"I'll take your word for it" Buffy was still a little put out that she had never heard him singing. "What about his dress sense?" she asked and left it to Willow to decide which column that was going under.

They continued for another half hour, filling the page and relieving some of the tension with occasional jokes.

Willow was just about to give up when she suddenly blushed a little and then wrote something in quite small writing at the bottom of the page. 

"What does it say?" Buffy asked and was surprised when Willow made to close the notebook. "Hey, slayer reflexes Will, don't make me take it from you" Willow looked a little embarrassed before accepting the inevitable and handing the book to her friend. Buffy read the entry and started to laugh. "How could I have forgotten that I trained with him often enough?"

Willow was lost for words for a few seconds before grabbing the book back. "Let's just pretend that you never noticed his cute butt and then we can move to the next stage?" she suggested.

Buffy waved her hand in agreement and moved to refill both of their coffee mugs. "So what is the next stage?" she asked from the kitchen.

"I just need to decide if there are enough important things in one column to overcome the other one" she suggested, a little unsure. "Also, I should probably place a call to the coven and leave a message for Morag to call me back" she looked towards Buffy. "Is it OK to make an international call?" 

Buffy nodded but put her hand on Willow's arm before she moved from the table. "Why the coven, they don't deal in wacky love spells or anything?"

Willow shook her head and smiled wryly. "Nothing like that, it just occurred to me that Morag had hinted about us being more than friends a couple of times and I need to talk to her to find out what she saw between us"

Buffy nodded. "You guys always had a weird chemistry thing going on but Xander and I guessed it was the fumes from all of those old books"

***********************

Giles walked without paying attention to where he was going until he ended up at the Espresso Pump. He hesitated for a moment before heading inside and sitting at the counter. "Hey, Rupert" a middle-aged man smiled at him. "Usual?" he asked and held up a large mug.

"Please" Giles nodded and looked around to see if there were any changes. He spotted the notice board and the flyer advertising open mic night and smiled to himself. "Thanks, Peter," he said as a large mug of herbal tea was placed in front of him. "Keeping busy?" he asked, keen to get his brain off topic for a while.

"About the same, are you back for good this time?" Peter asked and pulled a chair up next to Giles. "We could sure use you next Tuesday, the usual guy called off last week and it got pretty ugly when the ladies didn't get their cute singing guy fix"

Giles smiled and shook his head. "It's only a flying visit, I might have to leave tomorrow" he shrugged. "Anything new with you?" he tried to keep the conversation going, keen to engage in a conversation where there wasn't any chance of making the other person cry.

Peter shrugged as well. "This may be the weirdest town I've ever set up in but people here certainly love their caffeine" He gestured at the dozen or so patrons. "Even this early in the day we're usually more than half full and I can't remember the last time we had any seats available after seven"

"You should expand, get bigger premises" Giles suggested. "I seem to remember that retail rental was reasonably cheap"

Peter laughed a little. "Yeah, but I`m happy keeping to what I've got, it costs less to repair every time it gets trashed" 

Giles nodded "I know what you mean" he agreed with feeling and suddenly knew where he wanted to spend the next few hours. "Listen, Peter, it was really nice seeing you again, next time I'm in town I'll bring my guitar" he shook the young man's hand and headed towards the Magic Box.

Anya looked up with all the keenness of an upcoming retail manager and even managed to keep her disappointment to a reasonable level when she realised that he was unlikely to be a paying customer. "If you've come to check the books I took them home last night and haven't brought them back yet" she lied.

He shook his head and trudged towards one of the bookshelves, glancing disinterestedly at the titles. When he reached the end of the row he looked up and found her staring at him with some concern. "No, I'm not checking up on you I just needed to see the place again" he shrugged and continued on his tour of the premises. 

"Is there anything you specifically needed to see?" she asked and followed a few paces behind him.

"Anya," he said without looking at her. "I'm not a shoplifter, you don't need to supervise me"

She shrugged and returned to organising a display on the counter. After a few minutes, her curiosity got the better of her. "Did you fall out with Buffy?" she asked.

"What?" he mumbled as he skimmed through a thick book. "Of course not" he finally looked up at her and replaced his glasses. "Do I really need a reason to be in my own shop?" he asked and gently replaced the book to its position on the shelf.

"Our shop" she automatically corrected. "Of course not, I just assumed that your schedule had been filled with activities and I didn't expect you to have much free time"

He sighed and sat down at the large reading table. "Things are just a bit complicated and I decided to give everyone some breathing space before I returned" he admitted in his own mind that he may only be returning to pack for the last time.

"What did you do to get chased out of the house?" she asked with a little smile. "And don't try to pretend that it wasn't your fault, I'm an expert in men's frailties remember"

"It was really nothing and Willow was just a little upset and anyway, I don't want to discuss it" he mumbled and took his glasses off to clean them.

Anya recognised the delaying tactic and moved to the door of the shop to turn the closed sign to the window. She locked the door and sighed at her own folly in feeling a need to help him, perhaps the human feelings were finally gaining domination over her demon self-interest. She sat down opposite him and watched him go through his ritual. "Remember the rabbits I conjured during that awful memory wipe spell that Willow did?" she asked quietly and he looked up at her with confusion on his face. "I just kept making things worse and worse and you finally lost your temper" she smiled a little to let him know that she was OK to talk about it. "As well as the breaking up I also remember the making up part of that very strange day" her voice had dropped to barely a whisper. 

"Anya" he started and seemed to change his mind before continuing. "I do indeed remember everything of that day and some of it is even quite pleasant"

"I never told anyone what happened, not even Xander" she watched her finger as she drew circles on the surface of the table. "I also never told anyone about thinking you were dead at the end of the battle with Willow"

He took a deep breath, uncomfortable to be reminded of the day and also of Willow. "Why?" he asked, he knew that she needed to share this with him.

"You didn't let me finish" she sighed. "I didn't tell anyone until Willow came back after her visit to the coven and then I told her that I thought she had killed you"

"You had no right to tell her" he raised his voice a little. "Willow and I were trying to deal with the situation in our own way and your interference may have�"

She met his angry gaze with one of her own and saw him sit back a little as she interrupted him. "My `interference' was simply telling Willow the truth and she needed to know that she isn't the only one who loved you" her anger abated a little. "Perhaps I gave her a little jolt towards finally admitting her feelings about you because you were all so busy tiptoeing around her that she was too scared to let her emotions go again"

"What do you mean?" he asked, completely bewildered. "What do you know of Willow's feelings towards me?"

"Do you seriously think that an 1100-year-old vengeance demon doesn't pick up the ability to read body language?" she sneered at him. "Or that I haven't been around women who say they want to disembowel their husbands with the same breath as renewing their vows of undying love?"

He was staring at her. "But Willow" he started before she interrupted him again.

"But Willow nothing" she stood up and started to pace a little. "She is just another girl who is madly in love with someone without having the slightest inkling. And when it does finally seep through her mushy brain cells then she has to cry and sob and agonise over and over again instead of just telling the person concerned and getting on with the sex"

The final word of her tirade finally jolted him out of shock. "Anya" he pleaded with her. "Willow and I are going through a very traumatic situation" He stood up to try and assert his fragile authority.

She moved to stand in front of him, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "Why is it traumatic?" she asked and could see the confusion on his face. "You love her, she loves you" she let him stew on that for a few moments as she walked to the counter to lift one of the small boxes from the display. "Do we need to read the cards?" she asked sarcastically as she threw the pack of tarot cards at him.

"But she isn't sure" he began and was completely confused as to why he was discussing this with Anya, of all people. "I don't want to rush her into this if it isn't what's right for her"

"Rush her into it!" Anya shouted and threw her hands up in the air. "You have been hanging around her like a lovesick puppy for two years and I've seen the way she looks at you when she thinks nobody can see her"

He was about to argue with her when she pushed him back a step or two and he sat down abruptly on a chair. 

"You're worried about the gay thing," she said matter of factly. "Why do people have to be one or the other?" she turned away from him and started counting on her fingers. "I could tell you of several dozen very happy women who have tried both and been perfectly happy with either. It's about the person, not the label" she paused for a moment or two. "In fact, I can remember quite a few women who were happiest when they were with both at once" her eyes had a faraway look.

He raised his hands as if to defend himself. "Enough" he tried to sound commanding but his head was still reeling from the lecture he had been given. After a few moments, during which she was thankfully silent, he raised his head from his hands and looked at her. "So you're telling me that I'm being a bloody fool to let her fret about this and we should just get on with it?" he paraphrased.

"I think I was a little more eloquent, but that about sums it up" she nodded. "I still have `issues' with Willow and our history isn't going to go away any time soon, but I have some unfathomable need to see you happy and I think she might be able to help you with that" she seemed a little embarrassed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, each trying to work out how the conversation had gotten so personal so quickly. Finally, he stood and lifted her hand, pulling her towards him. He put his arms around her and gave her a hug, his hands gently rubbing her back. "I suspect you have just given me some very sensible, life-changing advice" he mumbled into her hair. "And I doubt that I will ever be able to pay you back, irrespective of whether the outcome is successful or not"

She breathed in the scent of him and remembered the last time they were so close. "You still own 51% of the shop" she suggested and heard him start to laugh. She could feel the rumble in his chest and held onto him a little tighter, unwilling to end the contact so soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Willow was pacing in the living room as Buffy sat on the armchair watching her. "Ooh you could toss a coin?" she suggested. 

Willow turned to look at her and shrugged. "I'm getting to the point where I think if the decision is this hard to make maybe it wasn't meant to be" she sank onto the sofa and stared at her friend.

They both slouched in their respective seats, at a loss how to continue a conversation that seemed to spiral into the same old arguments for and against. Buffy was the first to react as the front door banged open and Giles strode into the living room, she was on her feet and had her hand on his chest to stop his movement before Willow even realised what was happening. "Now is not a good time Giles" she suggested with her firmest tone.

"Buffy, this doesn't concern you," he said quietly and quickly twisted her wrist to remove her hand. He kept eye contact with her to dissuade her from taking things further and nodded slightly as she stepped back, acknowledging his right to have a few minutes to sort this out before she got involved.

Willow was on her feet and staring at both of them. "Buffy please don't hurt him" she blurted out before she realised that they had come to their own, silent agreement to that effect. "What do you want?" she asked him wearily, prepared for another round of tears and recriminations. "I don't really feel up to a big discussion" she started and was startled as he moved to stand in front of her.

"Me neither," he said as he reached out for her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. He leaned down and kissed her before she could object.

Buffy was staring at them in amazement and it took several seconds before she finally shook herself. "This is in no way a spectator sport" she mumbled as she headed for the relative sanity of the kitchen. 

Willow had gasped when she was pulled against his chest and air was now becoming a definite issue for her. She pulled back and put her hand on his chest to steady herself. "Need to breathe" she took a couple of deep breaths. "What on earth are you doing?" she finally asked and took another step away from him.

"It just suddenly occurred to me that the best way to decide if we were compatible was to kiss you until you either kissed me back or threw up on me" he suggested and retrieved his glasses from his jacket pocket. "So which is it to be?" he asked and tried to find something to do with his hands that didn't involve touching her.

"But we haven't resolved anything" she argued, although he could tell she was weakening. "Buffy and I put together a list and we were being methodical and now you've just come along and made everything all confusing again" she pouted a little.

He cocked his head to the side and stared at her lips. "Someone in this house is going to get kissed again in the next thirty seconds, your only decision is whether it is you or Buffy" he stated matter of factly and marveled that he could still remain relatively calm while his heart was racing like an express train.

At this point, they both heard the front door slam shut and Willow looked out of the front window to see Buffy departing at speed. "Perhaps your idea of using empirical evidence for the decision-making process isn't to be dismissed out of hand" she nodded. 

"Willow, shut up and kiss me" he sighed. 

"I don't know, what is it with the masterful thing?" she asked and watched as he slowly took a step towards her. He waited, willing her to make the next move. "I'm still a little confused," she said quietly as she wrapped her arms protectively around herself. "I made a list and�" 

"Willow, shut up and kiss me?" he pleaded with her, his voice almost a whisper, watching as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

She reached out and touched his chest, needing to feel his warmth. She seemed to come to a decision and her hand wandered down to his waist while her other one reached to hold his right hand. Their fingers intertwined as she leaned into him and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. She bent her head back a little and tentatively kissed him.

His earlier kiss had been fuelled by adrenaline and his mind had been so busy concentrating on her reactions that he hadn't really noticed the kiss itself. This one began gently, her lips barely touching his until she gained a little courage and moved even closer. His left hand trailed through her hair and rested on her neck, causing her to whimper slightly when he traced the same section of skin he had brushed against earlier in the day. Her reaction to his touch caused his heart to miss a beat and he opened his lips, inviting her to take their intimacy to another level.

Willow was at the floaty stage, completely unaware of any part of her body except for her lips and her hands where they touched him. She finally noticed his hand trailing fire across her neck and felt the shivers running down her spine. Now the simple kiss that had seemed to be the most important thing in her world seconds ago, paled into insignificance as she gently ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He tasted of minty toothpaste with a hint of chamomile. He must have had some tea, she rationalised in one part of her brain until the rest of her grey matter ganged up on her and told her to shut up and kiss him. 

Giles let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist, holding her against his body. The inevitable physical reactions were well on their way and he tried to take some control of the situation back. "We need to slow down a little?" he suggested as they broke apart for a few moments. 

"Too slow already" she mumbled as her lips moved back to his and her tongue dueled with his for dominance. After the battle was declared a draw she pulled back a little, letting her hands run across his chest. "I think the doubts are almost gone, can you think of any reason why we can't spend the rest of the day doing this?" she asked sweetly.

"None at all, perhaps we should research to see if there is a prophecy about it?" he tried to keep the tone light, knowing that the serious discussions were still to come but happy for them to be delayed for a little while yet.

She sank down onto the sofa and pulled his hand to bring him next to her. "Not the kind of laptop I had in mind" she suggested and waited to see his reaction.

He tried to look stern but his hormones had gone into overdrive and he remembered that he wasn't cast as the responsible adult in this scenario so he grinned at her instead and pulled her nearer to him. 

Thirty minutes later Dawn opened the front door and headed towards the kitchen. She was aware of movement in the living room out of the corner of her eye and turned to greet whoever was there. "Oh my God Giles, I'm really sorry, I didn't know you had someone here and I'm leaving now and bye" she practically threw herself towards the front door.

"Dawn, it's OK" Willow giggled and manoeuvred herself out from under Giles.

"Willow?" Dawn said and then stood rooted to the spot, completely unable to think of anything to say or do.

Willow walked up to her and waved her hand in front of her face. When she didn't get any reaction she turned to see Giles still sprawled on the sofa. "Do you think we broke her?" she shrugged.

He shook his head and slowly stood up, rearranging his sweater. "Probably just shock, perhaps you should get her a glass of water?" he suggested and gently guided Dawn towards a dining room chair. He stood in front of her, staring into her eyes and was a little surprised when the eyes suddenly focussed on him and she scooted back a little in the chair. "Welcome back" he smiled at her. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way"

Willow stood behind the young girl and motioned with her head for Giles to leave them alone for a minute or two. She knelt down in front of the chair and took Dawn's hands in her own. "Dawnie, I need to know that you are OK with this" she murmured. "You are part of our family and neither of us wants to hurt you"

Willow finally felt Dawn squeeze her hand and looked up into the teenager's eyes. "I just got a bit of a shock when I thought Giles was kissing someone. Then you popped up and then I knew it was both of you making out on my sofa and now I think I need to go to the bathroom" she stood up abruptly and ran upstairs, slamming the bathroom door.

"Well, that went well" Giles observed from the bottom of the stairs. "Now that Buffy, Dawn, and Anya know I think it's about time you told Xander" he suggested.

"Anya knows?" Willow spluttered and followed him back to the living room. "You told Anya about us?" she accused him. It took a second or two for the rest of his suggestion to sink in. "I have to tell Xander, when did I get nominated for that?" she stood in front of him.

"I didn't tell Anya, technically she told me and I think it's only fair that you break the news to your oldest friend, after all, I wouldn't want to come between you?" He seemed to think he had said enough and sat down on the sofa, gently patting the cushion next to him as a hint.

Willow folded her arms and frowned. "We'll discuss Anya's role in this later, we need to sort out how we're going to tell Xander"

"Tell me what?" the man of the moment made his appearance through the front door at that exact moment.

"You couldn't resist could you?" Giles murmured as he stared up to where he assumed the powers that be were looking down on them, shaking with laughter at his situation.

"Xan!" Willow had paled and quickly headed for hyper-panic mode. "Best buddy of mine, how you doing?" she playfully punched his arm.

"Ow," he mumbled and rubbed at the spot. "I'm fine, have you been drinking full strength coffee, Will?"

"Nope, just delighted, surprised even, to see my bestest bud and why are you here so early, don't you have work?" she was still grinning inanely at him.

"Took the afternoon off to help out with the ghostbusting" he looked over her shoulder towards Giles, who was still sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. "Giles, has Willow been doing happy spells?"

Giles took a deep breath and decided he really had to sort this out once and for all before Buffy, Anya or Dawn broke the news for him. "Xander, just the man I was looking for, we need to get some supplies from the Magic Box, want to walk with me?" he suggested and wearily stood up to get his jacket from the end of the sofa.

Willow looked even more panicked. "Oooooh, not a good idea, perhaps I should go with Xander and you can wait here?" she asked him, her eyes pleading with him.

"I would rather you spoke to Dawn and made sure she was feeling OK" he smiled gently at her. "Come on Xander, we need to get going"

Xander looked between the two of them, aware of some undertone that he wasn't getting, but knew that Giles wouldn't be leaving Willow if there was anything seriously wrong. "OK big guy, let's go" he turned back as he got to the door. "Will, take it easy, we'll talk later?"

"Okey dokey and I Iove you Xan" she smiled at him and waved.

Both men shook their heads as they turned to walk down the path. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Xander asked: "So I guess Dawn has a girl's problem and that's why you and I are dispatched on a meaningless errand while Willow gets freaky and stays behind?"

"Sorry?" Giles had been running through conversational scenarios and hadn't gotten to one yet where Xander didn't try to strangle him so he hadn't really been listening.

Xander shook his head "Now you're phasing out on me" he complained. "Let's try some easier questions" he suggested and stood in front of Giles to stop his progress. "Is Dawn OK?" he enumerated question one on his index finger.

"As far as I know she's fine" Giles murmured, unwilling to suggest that her recent shock had probably caused irreparable mental scars.

"OK, we're getting somewhere" Xander smiled at him and held up another finger. "So how's Willow, she seemed a little wired back there"

"Well, that is a rather more difficult question" Giles admitted and saw the panic start to form behind Xander's eyes. "Essentially she is fine, better than she has been for some time I would hazard to guess" he suggested, trying to keep the smug grin from his face. "She has just made quite a difficult decision and I think the relief and�" he struggled for the correct word. "Excitement she was experiencing over this decision" he continued doggedly, determined to get this out in one go. "Perhaps caused her to be a little effusive in her manner but I think she will be much better from now on" he smiled in relief at having got that off his chest and checked to see how Xander was reacting to the shocking news.

"Huh?" Xander asked. "Were you still speaking English there?" 

Giles quickly ran through the previous few seconds and sighed, preparing himself for the worst. "Xander, Willow was just a little anxious at you finding out about some major news in her life"

"She's got a new girlfriend?" Xander guessed and grinned at Giles. "That's it, isn't it?" 

"Not quite" Giles acknowledged and took a deep breath. "The thing is that Willow has found someone to share her life with but it isn't, necessarily, a girlfriend"

"She bought a dog?" Xander asked, getting more confused by the minute.

"Willow has a new boyfriend" Giles decided the best way to get this through to Xander was in stages.

"What!" Xander shouted and started to pace in front of Giles. "But she's gay now, how can she be friending with a boy?"

"Willow was having some difficulty with that very question herself, however, I think she decided that the inner person is more important than the package they come in"

Xander took some time to sort through this explanation and shook his head. "Even if that lame-o mumbo-jumbo is true, who is this guy? She's been hanging with us since she came back, I'd know if someone was making any moves on her" He seemed to think that this was incontrovertible evidence that Giles was wrong and waited to hear an apology as Giles agreed to the complete sense of this observation.

"Well, that's where the second part of this rather interesting situation comes into play" Giles admitted and slowly removed his glasses, carefully folding them and putting them in his pocket. He shrugged his shoulders and widened his stance a little before making eye contact with Xander. "The man that Willow has decided she is in love with would be me" he waited for Xander's first punch to land. 

He wasn't prepared for the snigger to escape the boy's lips closely followed by laughter and some good humoured back slapping. "Giles, stop trying to protect the guy, I won't hurt him I promise"

Giles scrunched his forehead, trying to think of some way to persuade him. "Xander had you arrived ten minutes earlier at Buffy's you would have found us `making out' on the sofa" he paused to shake his head at the ridiculous phrase. "Instead of which Dawn caught us and is probably scarred for life"

Xander had stopped laughing. "Giles, please stop kidding around here, this is serious"

"Oh for god sake, I'm not kidding around with you but I am fooling around with your best friend" he had finally run out of patience and the small voice in his head once again reminded him of his stupidity as the first punch caught him unawares.

Xander hit him once and then bounced gently on the balls of his feet waiting for Giles to stand up so he could hit him again. "When I've finished here we'll go back and you can undo whatever spell you've whammied Willow with" he snarled.

Giles sighed and shook his head to clear some of the buzzing in his ears. "Xander, please?" he said and slowly started to get to his feet. "I'm sorry for the phrasing but I am very much in love with Willow and I believe she feels the same for me" he had finally made it to his feet and held up his hands to signal his unwillingness to fight. "I won't fight you but please don't suggest I've coerced Willow in any way, she's completely herself and used her own free will to come to her decision"

Xander shook his head and swiped Giles' hands away from him. "Why else would Willow go for you?" He swung another right hook at Giles and winced as he connected squarely, shaking his hand to get rid of the pain in his knuckles.

Giles lay on the ground breathing through his mouth. He had heard his nose break with that punch and could feel his anger building but he knew he couldn't retaliate and had to find some way to talk Xander round. He was just getting to his knees and wiping the back of his hand under his nose to remove some of the blood when he saw a pair of boots he recognised standing in front of him. "I guess you told Xander then?" Buffy asked as she reached her hand down to help him to his feet. "Ooohh that's gotta hurt?" she sympathised as she inspected his nose.

Xander was looking at her in disbelief. "You already knew?" he shouted at her. "Why am I the first to hit him when you knew he'd put some kind of spell on Willow?"

Buffy shook her head and turned towards Xander, carefully placing herself between the two men. "Xan, he didn't put a spell on her, this is Giles, he would never do anything as stupid as putting a love spell on someone" she looked pointedly at Xander and waited for him to catch onto her meaning. When the young man looked a little less belligerent she nodded. "So the reason I didn't take this out on his nose is that Willow and him were kissing when I left them to it about an hour ago" she put a hand on Xander's chest to stop him from coming any closer to Giles. "I'm not happy about this either but we need to let Willow figure this out for herself and.." she pushed gently against his chest to stop him interrupting. "If there is to be any whipping of Watcher ass I will be the first one to step up"

Giles coughed and tried to lean his head back to stop the blood running down his throat. "Xander, please I would never do anything to hurt Willow, it would be like cutting out my own heart"

"I call that when we're handing out tasks" Xander scowled at him and took a step away from Buffy. "I need some time to sort this out," he said, turning and walking briskly away from them.

Buffy turned to Giles and took his handkerchief from him to gently dab at the blood running freely from his nose. "Broken?" she asked and sighed when he nodded gently. "Just as well Willow is a whizz with the healing spells" she smiled at him. "Why on earth did you decide to tell him like this?" she indicated the street and interested neighbours who were now disappearing behind curtains again.

"It was taken out of our hands" he mumbled. "Dawn came home early from school and caught Willow and I ehm.." he tried to phrase this a little more delicately than he had with Xander. 

"Inflagrante delicto" Buffy suggested proudly.

"Bloody typical" he shook his head. "The only Latin phrase you ever bothered to learn. And no, we were simply kissing and then I realised that Xander was the only one who didn't know and Willow was a little uncertain of the best way to break the news so I volunteered to explain the situation to him" 

"Explaining the situation used to be a lot less painful" she laughed and guided him up the path towards the front door. "I don't ever remember you getting your nose splattered in the library when you explained stuff before"

"It was a happier time" he admitted and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.


	16. Chapter 16

Buffy helped him into a chair and went to the bottom of the stairs. "Willow, bring down the first aid kit for Giles" she yelled and headed for the kitchen to get a bowl of water and some towels.

Giles winced at her shout and gingerly tried to hold the handkerchief against his nose at the same time as removing his jacket. 

"Giles?" Willow shouted as she ran downstairs. "What happened?" she skidded to a halt in front of him and gently took over the blood staunching duties. "I told you I should have gone with Xan" she sighed at him. "Even you couldn't have upset Dawn enough to make her punch you out"

Buffy smiled at her as she came back in and put the supplies down next to Willow. "Where is Dawn?"

Willow blushed and dabbed a little too harshly, causing Giles to jump a little and he started coughing. "Sorry" she mumbled and handed him a clean towel while she turned towards Buffy. "She came back from school a little early and Giles and I were kissing on the sofa and she kind of.." her sentence lost the will to live and died an honourable death.

"Giles said she caught you guys making out in the living room" Buffy admitted and started to laugh. "You were just kissing, right?" she checked that the trauma her sister was suffering from had nothing to do with nakedness.

"Of course" Giles spluttered and glared as best he could around the large towel he held against his nose.

"Let's get you sorted out and then I'll have a word with her, she'll be fine" Buffy assured them and started taking supplies out of the first aid kit. "Do you want to go to the hospital or will I straighten the nose for you?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Willow, can you go and get me something to wear from my room please?" he asked and Willow looked between them both before heading off. "OK, get it over with quickly" he mumbled and grabbed the edge of the table.

Willow heard him swearing and then Buffy's soothing mumbles when she reached the top of the stairs but she only shuddered and headed for his room. "Will this be OK?" she asked when she had returned with a shirt. "I thought it would be easier than pulling on a sweater"

Giles was leaning back in the chair, taking deep breaths through his mouth while Buffy was clearing up the bloody towels and removing the pink bowl of water. She had reset his nose and pieces of cotton wool were dangling from it but at least he wasn't bleeding profusely any more. "That's fine Willow, thank you" he mumbled when he had managed to convince himself that he wasn't going to pass out. "Perhaps you could give me a hand to get out of this?" he indicated the bloodstained sweater and t-shirt.

"Wasn't exactly how I pictured undressing you today but I guess it's better than nothing" she quipped in an attempt to lighten the mood a little. "I'm really sorry, I'll speak to Xander and you know he'll be really upset he did this to you when he finally comes round?" she suggested and slowly lifted his sweater over his head, carefully avoiding his face.

Giles didn't answer her but helped remove his clothes before pulling on the shirt. "I think perhaps I could have been a little gentler in breaking the news to him" he suggested as she slowly buttoned up his shirt for him, her eyes concentrating on getting him redressed. "I'm sorry, but I think he may be angry with me for some time, perhaps we should�" 

"Don't you dare" she interrupted him. "At the end of the day it is none of Xander's business who I choose to share my lips with and we are not going to change things between us just to make it easier for him" she finished buttoning him and met his eyes. She smiled and leaned down to gently kiss him. "However, I think he has put paid to any serious lip sharing for the next day or two?" she suggested.

"Now who's being boring and old?" he asked as his hands ran down to her waist and he gently lifted her onto his lap. "We'll just have to find something else to do that doesn't involve my lips, yours are still working I believe?"

She leaned down with a wicked smile and started to kiss his neck and behind his ear. "This could be fun" she murmured against his neck and giggled when he moaned and started breathing heavily through his mouth.

"OK, Dawn and I are coming downstairs now" Buffy announced from the top landing. Her slayer powers may not have included super hearing, but she guessed that a timely interruption might be called for. By the time they were at the bottom of the stairs, Willow and Giles were sitting side by side at the table and pretending nothing had been going on. Buffy smiled at them both and shook her head a little. "Dawn, go ahead" she pushed Dawn towards Willow.

The young girl was blushing furiously and seemed likely to bolt back upstairs but her sister's presence behind her, effectively blocking her escape route, meant that she had to carry on. "I'm really sorry I burst in and disturbed you guys earlier" she hastily managed to get out the prepared part of the speech before finally looking up and watching Willow. "So you're not gay now?" she asked quietly and heard Buffy groan behind her. "I know, it's none of my business and you guys are both really neat and have loads of stuff in common but I thought Willow was happy with Tara and now.." she ran out of steam as she saw Willow's eyes brighten with tears. "I'm sorry, please don't cry, I don't want to make you unhappy but I'm just really confused and I want you to be happy again"

Giles stood up and ran his hand across Willow's shoulders before heading for the kitchen. "Why don't we leave Willow alone for a while and you and I can sit in the garden and you can ask me any questions you want?" he suggested and was a little surprised when the young girl meekly followed him. 

She looked over her shoulder once to see Buffy putting her arm around Willow's shoulders and trying to comfort her best friend.

Giles closed the back door behind them and sat down on the top step beside her. "First things first" he suggested and waited till she looked up at him. "Even if you don't like the answers I give, can we agree that you won't punch me on the nose?" 

She winced a little and put her hand on his arm. "Did Xander do that?" she asked quietly. "Why was he so mad at you, did he think you were hurting Willow?"

Giles took a deep breath and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I think he is just as confused as you are about Willow's selection, both because it's a male and, perhaps more importantly because it's me"

"Why would he be mad that it was you?" she asked and wondered what had happened in the past between the two men. "You and Willow have been friends for years and you are both really brainy and like to do the research stuff so it kind of makes sense"

"But Xander has known Willow for a lot longer and he thinks I'm using our friendship to trick Willow into something she can't really want because of her grief over Tara and her guilt over what happened earlier this year." He squinted up at her, trying to make sure that she understood Xander's concerns and didn't think any less of him because of them. "What Xander doesn't know yet, but he will come to realise, is that Willow and I are both very aware of the reasons why this has happened and have agreed that we are both taking this step with our eyes wide open." He wasn't sure that the young girl was mature enough to work out the complexities but knew that he should try his best to explain them to her in the hope that she would understand and, ultimately accept, them as a couple.

"Is that why you left?" she asked after several minutes of silence.

"What?" he asked, completely surprised by the question.

"When you left after Willow's memory spell went wonky, did you go because you were in love with her?" Dawn looked up to gauge his reaction. "Because Tara really loved her as well and she left her at the same time and I just wondered if one of you had stayed with her whether the bad stuff would have happened?" she set her lips, uncertain how angry he would be with her question.

He took a moment or two to gather his thoughts then took a deep breath and stared into the garden. "You would need to ask Willow but I think she would admit that losing most of her support structures in one fell swoop turned out to be a good thing for her. It eventually pushed her to realise her addiction and seek help" he gently probed around his nose, gaining time before returning to the difficult part of the answer. "What happened to Tara, after they had reunited, was the fault of one person only and that was Warren. He chose a particular path and carried out the darkest act a human can inflict on another to gain revenge. Willow's actions after his are no more excusable and she is still working through the outcomes of her actions" he glanced round to see if Dawn was following him.

"But did you leave because of Buffy and I or did you leave because you loved Willow?" she brought him back to the original point. 

He could hear the pain in her voice. "Dawn I left because Buffy was relying on me for too many decisions and that is the most dangerous thing that can happen to a slayer" he began, remembering the argument when he had explained this to Buffy. "I didn't leave because of you, you had done nothing wrong" he put his hand on her arm to reinforce his words. "Well, except for snogging a vampire" he smiled and was relieved to see a smile winning through. "Buffy needed to take control of her life again and it was impossible for her to do that while I was here because I couldn't not help her, that's my weakness" He sat back from her a little and lifted one knee to his chest. "However, I won't deny that it was difficult for me to be around Willow while she was going through the worst because I couldn't take her in my arms and make her understand the danger she was in" he sighed. "I have loved Willow for quite a while now and had become resigned to never being able to tell her, so the last few hours have been a little strange" he admitted.

They sat beside one another for another five minutes before Dawn seemed to come to a decision. "I'm sorry I was so weird earlier, just let me know when you want the house to yourselves and I'll make myself scarce" she smiled at him and gently reached out to touch his nose. "You look younger without your glasses, how come I didn't notice that before?" she asked and shrugged her shoulders before moving back into the kitchen.

He shook his head and marvelled at the resilience of youth yet again. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised at her eventual maturity, after all the world ending dangers she had faced, to say nothing of losing her mother at an early age, should all have combined to make her grow up much more quickly than a normal teenager. He was trying to recollect what the others had been like at her age when he heard footsteps behind him and tilted his head back to see who was coming out to join him. 

"Hey" Willow smiled at him and handed him his glasses. "Buffy found them in your jacket when she was putting it in the wash" 

"Thank you," he said and shuffled over a little so that she could sit next to him. "I'll leave them off, for now, the nose is a little tender still" he put the glasses in the top pocket of his shirt.

"Nothing to do with Dawn thinking you look younger?" she giggled and stretched her legs out beside him. He decided not to dignify this with a response and continued to stare into the middle distance.

"Heck of a day" Willow suggested after several moments. "Here I was thinking it was all going to be about de-ghosting the olds and it turns out like this?" she indicated both of them.

"I'd completely forgotten about the residents" he admitted. "But I'm not sure I would have changed very much if this is the outcome." He turned to look at her. "Perhaps a spell to make me think before I opened my mouth, but that would be all"

"We still need to talk" Willow sighed. "But I think it will be about finding some way to make this work, not whether it should `be' in the first place"

"I'm relieved to hear it" he smiled at her. "I know that we have a lot to talk about but perhaps we should get the problems at the residential home sorted out first and then we can spend the rest of my holiday working through our personal situation?"

"OK" she seemed a little distracted. "I've set up your laptop to pick up any emails from the Council and I looked out some books on poltergeists and spiritual activity" She stood and held her hand out to help him up. "Just one thing," she asked as he stood beside her. "Can we agree not to mention the temporary nature of your stay or I probably won't be able to do much more than sit in a corner and sniffle?"

"Agreed" he nodded and opened his arms for her. She stepped into his embrace and sighed as she felt his chin rest on her shoulder. They hugged for several moments, the atmosphere slowly changing from a friendly gesture into something a little more intimate. "Ah Willow?" he finally mumbled into her hair.

"Mmmmm?" she mumbled back at him.

"Doesn't this qualify as hands in naughty places?" he asked and pulled back to look down at her pout. "Not that I mind but we did agree to sort out the supernatural shenanigans first"

She removed her hands from his butt and clasped them behind her back. "OK, but I better get a reward for all of this self-sacrifice" she suggested and headed for the dining room. 

Buffy looked up from the table. "Is everything OK?" she asked quietly and smiled when Willow nodded and grinned at her. "I started to look through the books but I'm still not sure what it is that we're dealing with?"

Willow shrugged. "Me neither, Giles and I didn't pick up anything when we searched the home yesterday" She looked up as he came into the room behind her. "Where do we start with the research?" she asked.

"I need to check my emails first as the information I requested should allow us to work out some areas for further research" he moved to sit at his laptop. "Perhaps one of you lovely ladies could get me a cuppa and some painkillers?" he asked as he scrunched his eyes up to read the screen. Buffy shook her head and left them to it. "Aha," Giles said after a couple of minutes. "I think this is the very thing we were looking for" he smiled and indicated the screen for Willow. "George has finally found the manuscript I asked him to hunt up"

Willow stood behind him and leaned over his shoulder to read the screen. Almost absent-mindedly she rested her hand on his neck and her fingers started running through his hair. "So this details the suspected cause of the abandonment of the San Diego Guilen community" she glanced at him. "And it seems to suggest that the sect had been overrun by a Lareck demon and that the other sects were trying to join their forces to vanquish it"

Buffy placed their mugs in front of them. "So this demon took them all with him but is it the same thing that's taking out the residents?" she handed him the painkillers and a glass of water.

Giles took the painkillers and shook his head. "The Lareck is a pretty nasty form of fear demon and it might have been strong enough to destroy the combined sects' once it realised it was losing the battle." He gingerly removed the cotton wool plugs from his nose and dabbed at the remaining blood with a clean handkerchief. "And the demon was obviously overcome because there is no record of it returning to this area. That leaves us with just one, intriguing possibility to explain the occurrences in the home" he paused to sip at his tea.

Buffy smiled at Willow as she settled into a chair opposite her friend. "I hate it when he lets the suspense build like this"

Willow sipped her tea. "I know what you mean, that would definitely go in the against column"

Both girls laughed and he looked between them a little suspiciously. "If you are quite finished?" he asked. "It seems to me that the most likely explanation is that some of those responsible for the Sunnydale end of the joining have remained, in spirit form, within the locale and are trying to communicate something to us"

"They aren't doing a very good job if they can only manage to make people scared, cold or dead" Buffy suggested dryly.

"And we didn't pick anything up yesterday, would they be able to mask their presence from both of us?" Willow asked.

"Perhaps" Giles nodded and picked his tea up to pace a little. "I chose the spell we used yesterday because I assumed that it would be a recent, incumbent spirit of some kind, perhaps a previous resident" he seemed to think for a moment or two. "Perhaps a more specific calling for the members of the sect would be more successful"

Willow nodded and pulled one of the books piled on the table towards her. "I remember reading about a séance that targeted one specific spirit and it seemed to rely on an ancient Celtic calling to ancestors"

Willow and Giles continued to research for the rest of the afternoon until Buffy closed the book in front of him. "We need to get some dinner, I vote for Italian and Giles needs to let his eyes rest"

Willow yawned and agreed with her. "I am kind of hungry, I seem to have missed breakfast and lunch today" Giles stood and stretched before groaning as he gently probed around his nose. Willow stood in front of him. "I'm not sure if they are dark circles from eye strain and tiredness or if you're getting black eyes" she murmured. "How many times did he hit you?" 

"Just the twice and the first glanced off my jaw but the second one was a doozy, I'd have been very proud of him if I hadn't been on the receiving end" he smiled.

Buffy stood on tiptoe to peer at him. "I've seen worse on you, they'll be gone in a week or so" 

Dawn came into the dining room to find both girls staring intently at his face. He smiled at her quizzical look over their heads and sighed. "Someone mentioned food?" he suggested and headed for the front door while his three dinner companions rushed to find coats and bags.


	17. Chapter 17

The four friends walked home from the restaurant. "How was I supposed to know they didn't speak Italian?" Giles asked indignantly as the three others continued to laugh at him. "I just assumed that we were in an Italian restaurant and that it would be appropriate to order in Italian"

"Did you see the guy's face?" Dawn was leaning against Willow to stay upright. "He thought you were doing it deliberately to make him look bad and the fake Italian accent got worse and worse every time he came over"

"What was the last thing you said to him, as we were leaving?" Buffy asked, barely able to keep her giggling to a manageable level.

Giles finally grinned as well and looked a little sheepish. "Well I suggested a good phrase to use on the next person who tried speaking the lingo, but it was actually rather rude"

Willow looked shocked. "How rude?" she asked and the other two stopped sniggering to hear his answer.

Giles seemed to take some time to think about this and then shrugged and grinned again. "Really very rude and no, I won't translate it for you"

"Bet Willow can persuade you?" Dawn suggested with a wink and put her arm through Buffy's to stride ahead. "And then she can just tell us in the morning" she smiled sweetly as she looked back over her shoulder at them.

"Bet you she can't?" he returned her smile.

"$5?" Dawn asked and waited for his nod. "Deal" she agreed.

Willow had finally found her voice. "Hey, wait a minute you can't bet with an underage person, especially about my love life" she poked his side.

"Well if you don't think you're up to winning the bet I don't suppose it would be fair to take Dawn's money" he agreed and shrugged. "Sorry Dawn, bet's off, Willow doesn't want to persuade me"

Buffy started laughing again. "He's got you there Will. Want to go double or nothing?"

"Buffy!" Willow stuck her tongue out at her friend and then turned to glare at Giles. "I never said I couldn't do it, just that I didn't think it was fair to bet when I was obviously going to win"

They continued arguing all the way home until Buffy finally called a halt. "I need to go on patrol and Dawn needs to go to her room to finish her homework" she smiled at Willow. "That just leaves two responsible adults in charge of the entire downstairs, can I trust you?"

Willow was snuggled under Giles' arm and pulled him tighter as she grinned at Buffy. "You betcha" she pouted a little at the groans from the others and finally buried her face against his shirt.

"Be careful" Giles smiled at Buffy. "If I'm asleep when you get in please come and wake me, I need to make a couple of calls to England"

Buffy looked skeptically at the couple. "I'll see you later" she shook her head and left the three of them on the front porch.

Dawn waved her sister off and then turned to the others. "I'm going upstairs to read some stuff for history tomorrow and I'll probably have my headphones on and be listening to really loud music" she smiled innocently at them. "Goodnight"

Giles shook his head as he closed the front door and made sure it was locked. "There is something very strange about three young women having such an interest in my love life"

"Aren't I allowed to have an interest in it?" Willow asked as she hung her coat up and headed for the sofa.

"I suppose so" he admitted and snuggled up next to her on the sofa. "So do we have the serious talk now or do we kiss for half an hour and then get back to the research?"

Willow didn't let him finish the question before she was leaning over him and slowly kissing his neck. As he groaned and leaned back a little she opened the first two buttons on his shirt and progressed to kissing his throat and shoulder. 

"Shouldn't we wait for a few minutes in case Dawn needs a soda or something?" he managed to gasp out as she gently nipped his earlobe.

"She wouldn't want to risk interrupting another Giles make-out session" Willow giggled and slid one leg over his. 

He didn't even bother arguing with her that it was, technically, a Willow make-out session as she started working on his other earlobe and he ran his hand over her hip to rest on her butt. 

Willow had settled comfortably onto his lap and found a particularly sensitive part of his neck, where it met his shoulder. As she licked, kissed and nipped around the area a part of her mind was trying to work out how they had managed to get to this stage in a little under twenty-four hours. He was running his hands over her lower back and she guessed he was very aware of the effect he was having on her, yet he couldn't possibly know her that well, this quickly. It was almost as if they had been this close for years and were slipping into easy, familiar routines to slowly turn each other on without the need for the frantic, early throes of passion. She absentmindedly kissed up his jawline and started moving across to his lips when his mumbles of pleasure and encouragement stopped and he gasped. She pulled back to see him wincing and immediately started to drop feather-light kisses on his cheek and nose. "I'm sorry" she crooned, over and over.

Giles couldn't stop his laughter as he pushed her gently away. "I'm OK, but we should get back to the research and I could probably do with some more painkillers"

"Is it really bad?" she asked as she shifted away but remained on his lap. "Do you need help with the healing meditations from the coven?"

Giles slowly slid her onto the sofa next to him before standing. "It is a little sore but it's not bad enough to need meditation yet, I'll try some later after I've made my calls"

"Do we have to get back to the research yet, I promise to be really careful this time?" she pouted at him and pulled the belt of his trousers to persuade him to stay.

"Willow" he unclasped her fingers and stepped away. "If we don't stop then I think we may need to have the serious talk sooner rather than later" he stared at her pointedly, hoping she would catch his drift without any further explanation.

She scrunched her brow and seemed to take a few moments to work out what he meant. "Oh!" she lifted her hand to her mouth. "Haven't lost my touch then?" she asked mischievously and stood up to head towards the dining room, putting a sassy sway into her walk. He couldn't stop himself grinning as he buttoned his shirt and shook his head.

Willow sat down and quickly read through her notes from earlier. After a couple of minutes, she smiled up at him as he deposited a mug of coffee in front of her and nodded towards the book she was reading. "Does it mention the spell you were after?" he asked and sat down opposite her.

"Sort of, but the details are hidden amongst some fairly gory details of various Celtic tribes knocking lumps out of each other" she sighed. "I think another hour or so should get most of it together"

He nodded and turned to his laptop, quietly tapping in replies to several emails regarding work he had recently finished for the Council.

After half an hour Willow yawned and looked up to see him smiling at her. "What?" she asked.

"I was just thinking of the hilarity there would have been if I had predicted any of this a couple of years ago" he continued to smile. "I mean who would have believed that you would be knee deep in a book on Celtic spiritual activity while I was working on my laptop?"

"I think the revelation that I was dreaming about you while I was knee deep in the book would have caused a little more than hilarity" she suggested and raised an eyebrow. 

"I think you may be right" he smiled and turned back to his laptop as the incoming message alert interrupted them.

Forty minutes later Willow stood up and stretched, wincing as her neck and shoulders cracked ominously. "I think that's it for me" she yawned. "How did you get on?"

He was concentrating on something on his screen and didn't look up as he mumbled "Give me a minute Will" He didn't see the startled look she gave him and the smile that worked its way across her face. Shaking her head she lifted the empty mugs and went into the kitchen to tidy up.

He found her five minutes later, leaning against the countertop, reading a day old newspaper. "Sorry" he mumbled as he came up behind her and hugged her. 

"Sometimes Solitaire can be pretty tricky" she nodded sagely and turned the page.

"Hey" he whispered in her ear. "Do you think I would miss doing this with you just to finish a card game?" he deliberately breathed on her neck, feeling the shudder run down her spine. "I'll have you know that I am in demand and that was a particularly tricky translation"

She gently turned round in his arms, mindful of his injury. "Italian?" she asked sweetly and he laughed as he leaned down to kiss her.

After a couple of minutes, they parted. "Can we go back to the sofa, it was more comfortable" 

She was about to make a suggestion of her own when a huge yawn overtook her and she put her hand on his arm. "Sorry" she mumbled. "I think today is finally catching up with me"

He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "You should get some rest and we'll go over the spell in the morning. If we can get the ingredients together we can have this over and done with by the weekend and then we can spend our time in more interesting pursuits"

She ran her hands over his back and pulled him tight against her. "I'm sorry, it's just that I hardly slept last night and today has been a little strange" she understated with the mastery of years of practice.

"I understand, I'll make my calls and be in bed in half an hour myself" he disentangled himself from her arms. "Have I told you how glad I am that you decided not to throw up on me earlier today?" he had his hands on her shoulders, keeping her at arm’s length.

She looked a little confused and then remembered his ultimatum. "Technically I started all of this so it wouldn't have been fair to give you some hope and then turn you down" she rested her arms on his hips. "Could I ask one favour?" she looked a little sheepishly at him.

"Ask away, I'll probably say yes" he smiled back at her. 

"Could you call me Will again?" she turned away, a little embarrassed. "It's just that you've never called me that before and you did it a couple of minutes ago and it felt really good"

"I didn't even realise I had said it" he seemed a little bemused. "I'm so used to hearing Buffy and Xander use it that it must have been stuck in my subconscious with everything else that's made an appearance today" He gazed down at her and tried to memorise every single part of her as she looked at this minute. "I'll only call you Will when we're alone and then you'll know that I'm thinking about doing this when I use it" he leaned down and kissed her.

Willow sagged into his arms, closing her eyes and letting him take control of the kiss, just enjoying the sensations of being held. When he eventually broke the kiss it took several moments for her to realise he had stopped and she finally blinked a couple of times and smiled at him. "I'll see you in the morning" she sighed and headed for the stairs.

"Goodnight Will," he said, just loud enough for her to hear. 

He was finishing his second phone call when Buffy returned from her patrol. He waved at her to wait while he finished and then concluded his business. "Patrol went OK?" he asked, more out of habit than any real need to know what had happened.

"Fairly quiet, just a couple of tourists and one newbie" she smiled at him and snuggled into the large armchair. "Willow gone to bed?" she looked towards the dining room, expecting to see her friend still hard at work.

"She was exhausted and went up about forty minutes ago" he yawned himself as he settled onto the sofa. 

"Is everything OK?" Buffy asked "Because I really thought I was going to have to get slayery with you earlier"

He smiled at her and gently rubbed the side of his nose. "I know and I probably deserved it. Willow and I have come to an agreement that once the problems at the residential home have been sorted out we will sit down and have a serious discussion on what all of this means for both of us and all of you"

"Will you still be going home in a couple of weeks?" she asked.

He could hear the hurt and anger from his last decision to leave seeping into her tone of voice. "That's one of the things we'll need to discuss but the phone calls I made tonight should allow me a few extra weeks" he knew she wasn't happy about this situation. "That is if you don't mind having a house guest, I wouldn't want to outstay my welcome" he tried to joke.

"You never outstay your welcome Giles, that's the problem" she took a deep breath. "Look I'm trying to be all grown up about this but it's a bit hard to understand how you can clear your schedule and extend your stay just because you've got the chance of a little action" She knew she was on dangerous ground but wanted to get this off her chest. "I really needed you the last time and you left me to stand on my own two feet and look how well that turned out" she shook her head, irritated to remember the mistakes she had made to try to fill the void after he had left. "I'm coming round to being happy for you and Willow and I'll be as supportive as I can when it comes to talking to Xander, but I'd be lying if I told you that it doesn't hurt"

"This is completely different Buffy" he spoke quietly and tried to remember that they were both tired. "Our relationship was trying to find a new way to work and it was harming you for me to stay" he raised his hand to forestall any interruptions. "However, I have told you that I regret that decision and its repercussions" he stood up and leaned on the fireplace. "I know you may feel that I only seem to do what is best for me and ignore your wishes, but I think I made the only decision I could. And I would hope to be reasonably clear-headed about the decisions I have to make over the next few weeks"

Buffy thought about what he had said and stood up as well. "Look, this is none of my business and I genuinely hope that you can make this work with Willow because she does have feelings for you"

"You have but face?" he suggested.

"But" she smiled at him. "It may take me a little time to get used to being mature about how this works out so can you just bear with me?"

He moved across the room and pulled her into a hug. "Buffy, nothing would please me more than knowing that we have your blessing" he stood back from her so that she could see his face. "And I am sorry that the next few weeks will probably be filled with instances of my self-interest coming before everything else"

"Maybe it's about time you looked after yourself for a change" Buffy shrugged. "I guess I can deal with you being selfish for a little while"


	18. Chapter 18

Anya looked up and sighed as Willow came into the shop. "Hey" she mumbled and returned to the book she was reading.

"Hey" Willow mumbled in return and started choosing items from various jars and boxes around the store. "Do these come individually or do I need to get the whole bundle?" she asked as she held up a bundle of twigs bound together with some ribbon.

Anya looked up, a little surprised at Willow's question. "I can do you a good deal on the whole lot but you can take as many as you need" she put her book under the counter and came round to see what Willow had gathered on the table. "Séance?" she asked and lifted one of the jars to see the contents more clearly.

"Giles and I are going to try to summon the spirits that we think are haunting the residential home" Willow smiled at her. "And since I don't keep any supplies at home anymore I needed to stock up on the basics"

Anya nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. "How is Giles?" she asked and pretended innocence at Willow's sudden glance in her direction.

"He's very well" Willow nodded and gave up hunting for the final ingredients to sit down next to her. "He and I are trying to work through some personal issues and he suggested that you had helped him to come to a decision about them?" she left the sentence open ended, hoping to get a response.

Anya nodded and concentrated on removing a non-existent piece of lint from her skirt. "I may have suggested that life for mortals was very short and that it wasn't worth wasting it by being indecisive" she shrugged. "Was he decisive?" she asked, a hint of a grin quirking her lips.

"Oooooohhhhh" Willow breathed out slowly and was aware of a blush creeping up her neck. "Decisive doesn't really cover it, let's just say that I took your advice as well" she smiled. "I guess that means I owe you one?" Willow asked.

"Actually you owe me $37.50" Anya smiled and got up to fetch a paper bag for the purchases. 

Willow laughed and shook her head. "Have you heard from Xander recently?" she asked, trying to retain the bantering tone but failing miserably.

"Nope, he's not likely to be here unless he's with one of you these days" Anya shrugged and finished packing the items. "Why, is something wrong?"

"Not really" Willow shook her head. "It's just that Giles told him about our new arrangement and he sort of flipped and gave Giles two black eyes and a broken nose" Willow sadly finished and saw the look of worry on Anya's face. She raised her eyebrows as she recognised that Anya was concerned for Giles and not Xander and wondered when that strange shift had happened and why it made her uncomfortable.

"Is he alright?" Anya asked and put the money in the till without even checking it. Willow was seriously concerned now, Anya must care for Giles more deeply than any of them had ever guessed. 

"He's fine, Buffy reset his nose and he's just a bit sore" Willow remained seated at the table. "He worked late last night and I left him sleeping this morning, I guess the painkillers knocked him out a bit as well"

"What do you want me to tell Xander if I see him?" Anya asked, trying to get the image of Willow leaving Giles in bed out of her head.

"Just tell him that I need to see him, I'm not mad or anything but I just need to know he's OK" Willow shrugged. "I know this is difficult for him but he's my best friend, I can't lose him now"

Anya nodded and returned to stand behind the counter. "If I see him I'll let him know" she seemed to pause for a moment, unsure of whether to continue. "Perhaps you could tell Giles that I hope he gets better soon?"

Willow nodded and indicated the shop. "I think he wants to spend some time here before he leaves again and I'm sure he'll give you a call once this séance thing is over and done with"

***** 

Giles woke up feeling as if his mouth was full of cotton wool. He rolled over and started to wipe his hand across his eyes when he was painfully reminded of the previous day's events. "Oh, bloody hell!" he shouted and lay on his back to try and catch his breath.

"Giles, is everything OK?" Buffy asked from the other side of his bedroom door.

"Yes, yes" he mumbled and his head began to pound like some crazed jazz quartet. He slowly got himself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He was startled to find Buffy still standing outside his door when he opened it. "Buffy?" was all he could manage as he gritted his teeth. 

"Willow's gone out to the Magic Box and I think she was going to pick up some stuff for your head on her way home" Buffy stood back to let him past. "Can I get you anything?" she asked as he shuffled down the hallway.

"I'll be fine once I've got myself together," he said and closed the bathroom door to forestall any further questions. A ten-minute shower, most of it spent standing under the scalding water and trying to breathe through his nose, helped get him some of the way towards greeting the new day. He decided to miss shaving for a few days to let the bruise on his jaw quieten down a little. He also admitted to himself that he didn't really want to look at his purple and black eyes and nose in the mirror. Feeling a little refreshed he headed back to the bedroom and managed to get dressed and be feeling almost human by the time he headed downstairs.

Buffy was in the kitchen and had just poured his tea when he came in. "Good timing" she smiled at him. "Are you OK?" she winced.

"Just a bit tender this morning, sorry I was grumpy earlier" he blew on his tea to cool it a little. "Where did you say Willow had gone?" he asked.

"She went to the Magic Box to get the stuff you need for the spell and was going to stop at the pharmacist on the way back to get you some more painkillers" Buffy headed for the living room and he followed her. "Are you sure you should be doing any magic if you are in this much pain?" she asked. "Won't it affect your focus or something?"

He nodded a little and sat down on the sofa. "Willow is actually going to be doing most of the work and I'll just be anchoring her" he explained. "She is much more powerful than me anyway and I think she needs to do something like this to get her confidence back"

They sat in silence for a while until he looked up at her. "Any word from Xander?" he asked quietly.

Buffy shook her head. "Willow was hoping Anya might have heard something" she shrugged. "He'll come around eventually, probably just needs some time to get his head around this"

"I don't suppose I should expect him to understand 100% when I'm not sure Willow and I do ourselves" he agreed and looked towards Buffy. "About last night" he started.

"I'm sorry, I had no right to complain that you were able to stay longer" she interrupted.

"It's OK" he interrupted her. "I just need you to know that you and I have a bond that Willow and I will never have and it isn't going to be diminished by whatever we eventually become to each other" he sat forward in the chair and reached for her hand. "I never meant to hurt you" he squeezed her fingers and tilted his head to see her eyes.

She turned her head back to him and smiled. "You didn't hurt me, I was just tired and still a little freaked about you being all cuddly and kissable suddenly" Taking a deep breath she squeezed his hand in return. "I ruined things for you once before by being selfish and I don't intend to do it again, especially when I'd be messing with Willow as well"

He nodded and sank back in his chair. "Oh, and by the way" he added as an afterthought. "What makes you think I'm only staying to get some action?" he raised his eyebrows. "Why would I need to come all the way to America for that?"

Her embarrassment was finally matched by her shock at his teasing tone as the implications of what he said sank in. "Found your little black book when you got back to England?" she asked and shook her head. "Too much information, I'm going to do some training in the basement" 

Willow returned ten minutes later and found him still sitting in the chair, finishing his tea and enjoying the relative peace and calm. "Hello" she smiled as she leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "Did you sleep OK?"

"Not bad" he admitted. "Although I could have used a little company" he suggested and then caught her surprised look and suddenly blushed. "Sorry, just something Buffy and I were talking about" he mumbled and realised that yesterday's `saying something incredibly stupid without thinking' problem was still afflicting him.

Willow stared at him and shook her head. She decided to keep her mind on the problem at hand and emptied the bag onto the coffee table. "We'll come back to that later?" she suggested. "I picked up everything we'll need from Anya and I finished putting together the phrases we'll need for the calling from my notes this morning"

"We'll take half an hour to go over everything to make sure we haven't missed anything important and then you can call Mrs. Wayne and arrange a time for us to visit this afternoon" he nodded, feeling happier to be back on familiar ground. "Once the preparations are made we should both relax for a couple of hours to get ready"

Buffy came back upstairs an hour later to find Giles sitting in the armchair and Willow sprawled on the sofa. "Hey, what happened to the research and everything?" she shifted Willow's legs and squeezed onto the end of the sofa. "Is this how you two always work while Xander and I are out killing things?"

"Afraid so" Giles nodded. "We generally get the research done in about five minutes and then just spin out the lazing around till you come back all dirty and covered in demon gloop" he smiled.

"Yep," Willow agreed and lifted her legs till they rested on Buffy's lap. "Sometimes snacks and beverages are involved or not, depends on whether one of us can be bothered to get back up once the lazing has begun" she yawned and stretched a little.

"What's the plan?" Buffy looked sternly at Giles. "I thought we were clearing this up today so you two could get down to serious smoochies?"

He coughed. "That is still, essentially, the plan" he agreed. "We're due at the home for three thirty and have been guaranteed a couple of hours, free from interruption, in the rooms that have been affected to try and summon the spirits, see what they are trying to communicate and then persuade them to stop whatever they are doing" 

Buffy shrugged and snuggled down a little lower in the sofa. "OK, daytime TV here we come" 

Willow finally roused herself from the sofa at two o'clock. "I need to go and transform myself into efficient reporter woman, does anyone need to use the bathroom for the next twenty minutes?" 

"Give me a shout when you're finished and I'll come up and get ready" Giles suggested as he put down the book he was reading.

Buffy watched Willow head upstairs before turning on her side on the sofa. "Bet you wish you still had the Willow-vision thing still going on?" she smirked at him.

He looked at her sharply and she thought he was going to refuse to answer when he finally picked the book up again and pretended to concentrate on it. "I should have remembered the female habit of sharing every embarrassing titbit of news" he shrugged, still refusing to look up. "Now you know just how difficult that situation was for me?" 

Buffy sighed. "When Willow told me I felt sorry for you but you've got a point, things over the last day or two have made it seem kinda worse"

***** 

Mrs. Wayne stared at him as she shook his hand. "What on earth happened to you, Professor Giles?" she vaguely waved her free hand in the direction of his face. "Were you mugged?"

Giles coughed a little and wished he had thought up a reasonable lie before arriving.

Willow took pity on him and tried to get to the business at hand. "The professor was trying to teach some of us to play cricket and unfortunately misjudged his timing a little" she nudged Giles who was looking just as surprised as the older woman. "We should get set up and ready to get started" she suggested.

Giles cleared his throat and shook his head. He was always amazed at the completely innocent look that Willow habitually wore while lying so convincingly. He knew that it was a useful talent in their particular line of work, but was more disconcerted than usual as he realised the power she held over him. "Bit of a leg spin that caught me unawares" he finally let go of Mrs. Wayne's hand. "Definitely looks worse than it is" he suggested manfully. "The rooms were down this way I believe?" he pointed to the east wing and followed the two women as they made their way to Mike's room.

Mrs. Wayne watched nervously from the doorway as Willow laid out several candles and dishes in a vague circle. "You don't need to worry" Giles suggested as he removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. "Ms. Rosenberg and I have done this many times before and we'll be perfectly safe"

"If you could just lock the door on the way out and we'll come and find you once we're finished?" Willow suggested. "I thought she would never leave" she sighed and began pouring a ring of coloured sand onto the carpet.

"Are we in a hurry?" he asked as he removed his waistcoat and loosened his tie. 

Willow finished what she was doing and passed her hand over a large dish, causing a slightly green-tinged smoke to begin forming. "Just looking forward to defeating the evilness, that's all" she smiled sweetly at him. "That's a good look on you" she nodded towards him. "Slightly ruffled tweed with designer stubble"

He rolled his eyes and lowered himself onto his knees within the circle of sand. "Concentrate" he glared at her and held his hands out.

She smiled and dropped into the lotus position in front of him, taking his hands in hers and rolling her neck to get rid of any remaining kinks. When she was quite settled she stared into his eyes. "Let's do this," she said quietly and began reciting the Celtic chant, modified slightly to specifically call on members of the Guilen sect.

He had slowed his breathing and felt himself becoming aware of the magic slowly being generated around him. His job was to remain focussed on the physical surroundings and anchor Willow in their present time and space while she tried to bring forth the sect members. 

Willow had admitted to being more than a little nervous. Her previous dealings with the spirit world had all ended badly and she wasn't sure she wanted anything to do with this type of magic ever again but she knew that Giles was very experienced in this area and wouldn't allow any harm to come to either of them.

After about ten minutes they both became aware of darkening in the smoke that now surrounded them. The green colour slowly changed to a dirty grey and eventually developed into a human form. Willow continued in her chant, becoming a little more insistent to try to actualise the form more distinctly. After a few minutes, they were able to make out a human male wearing clothes consistent with the Guilen's time period. He was quite small and Giles wondered briefly if he were a child, however, the final few seconds of the form's appearance distilled into a bearded figure.

"You must hurry" the form urged them. "You must get out while you can" 

"Why?" Willow asked quietly. "What is it that you are frightened of?"

The man looked at her as if she was mad. "The demon knows we are trying to vanquish him and is coming to destroy us all" he looked over his shoulder. "I don't have time to explain, we must all leave here now" he was practically begging them now and they both knew that he was petrified of whatever he thought was coming to get them.

"Is it the Lareck demon?" Giles asked and knew he was right from the frightened look the man gave them. "We have nothing to fear, he was defeated by the strength of your joining. He is gone"

The man frantically shook his head and tried to reach out to pull them after him. "I couldn't make them understand and now it's too late"

Willow took a deep breath and concentrated to bring a little more of her power online. "You can sense my power" she stated and saw the man stare at her in surprise. "You know that the demon will be defeated if he comes anywhere near me so we are all safe"

He seemed to calm down a little but continued to glance over his shoulder regularly. "You are a sorcerer of great power" he finally admitted. "Perhaps you are our only hope now that the demon is free" they could both see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You must use your power to resurrect the link between the houses. Without the link, we will be destroyed"

Giles signaled to Willow to let him take over for a while. "You must believe us when we tell you that the demon has been destroyed. Your fight is over, you have won and can let go of your connection to this place and allow yourself to rest with the others of your sect"

He looked at Giles and his disbelief in their words faded away. "I cannot rest" he finally admitted as he hung his head. "It is because of my mistake that the demon is free and I cannot rest until I can persuade the council to leave this place before the demon arrives and kills all of us" 

"What was your mistake?" Giles asked softly.

The apparition took a deep breath and slowly looked up. "I thirsted after knowledge and would not listen to the elders on the council when they said that some areas were not for novices to study" Giles heard Willow's breathing quicken but trusted her to keep her concentration until they had finished their work. "I stole some of the ancient texts and let my pride get the better of me, summoning the demon in an attempt to prove to them that I was strong enough to vanquish it myself"

"The demon was destroyed" Giles gently reminded him. "You are drawn to this place because it holds your memories of the final battle, but that battle was fought and won over two hundred years ago and you must recognise the futility of continuing to torture yourself"

"I deserve no less" the man suggested and stepped back, spreading his arms wide. "I am worse than the demon himself, I cannot allow myself to rest with the innocents. I should suffer for the rest of eternity and it would still not be enough"

"You are not the only one suffering" Willow allowed a little more of her power to build. "Your actions are hurting people in our time and we cannot allow you to indulge your guilt at their expense"

The three of them sat in silence for a moment or two. 

"I do not mean any harm to those in your world but I must remain as I am to warn others of the dangers"

Willow shook her head. "There are many here who know of the demon world and its powers, they will continue the fight if you choose to rest after all of this time"

"I do not warn of demons" he argued impatiently. "You understand nothing" he turned away and closed his eyes. "I must remain to warn others who would seek the power without having the knowledge to temper its use" he admitted quietly.

Giles squeezed Willow's hands. "There are those of us who have learned this lesson already and are prepared to remain in your stead" he suggested. "You may look into our souls and detect the knowledge you speak of. You will see the battles we have fought and won over many years to teach others this lesson, and you will see that your presence here is only causing harm" Giles allowed a little steel to creep into his tone at the end and met the surprised gaze of the apparition without giving any quarter.

"It is as you say" the man finally agreed. "I have longed for and dreaded this moment for centuries" he admitted. "I am sorry that I have caused your people suffering, I meant them no harm, only to warn them that the house they inhabited could be overcome by the demon if they were not vigilant"

Giles nodded. "We understand but you must leave now and allow these people to live here free from your intervention"

Willow felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over them to be followed by a deep sadness. "I wish you luck in your coming battles and thank you for releasing me from my duty" the final words seemed to emanate from the cloud of smoke as the form slowly dematerialised.

Willow slowly reined in her power and ensured that the door they had opened to the spirit world was firmly closed before allowing herself to relax and drop her hands to her sides. 

Giles was leaning back against the bed, catching his breath. He watched her roll her neck and wiggle her toes and fingers. "You were controlling the doorway for an hour, are you OK?" he finally asked and was rewarded with a smile and her opening her eyes. 

"A little tired and a lot sad" she admitted and slowly uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her while leaning back on her hands. "Do you think he's really gone?" 

Giles nodded. "I think the mayor may have had something to do with this building being put in the same place and built to a similar specification as the original sect buildings" he stretched his back and rotated his shoulders. "The spirit obviously assumed it had been built to resurrect the demon and tried to warn all of those living here of the danger they were in"

Willow nodded and stood up, brushing sand and herbs from her clothes as she moved to open the windows. She wafted some of the smoke out of the window before moving to his side and offering her hand to help him stand. "I don't suppose he had any way of knowing that the elderly residents wouldn't react very well to ghostly visits foretelling doom and their imminent death"

Giles stood up himself and then took her hand in his. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, it must have been very painful for you so soon after your own battles" he hugged her close. "You were magnificent today, the gradually increasing power, and your control of it was what finally convinced him to leave"

"Just doing my job sir" Willow smiled at him and hugged him tightly before stepping away. "I'll go and find Mrs. Wayne and sort out getting this mess cleared up"

Giles nodded and slowly stretched before putting his waistcoat and jacket back on. He looked at himself in a full-length mirror on the back of the door and shook his head. When Willow had originally suggested the tweed suit to impress the woman who ran the residential home he had assured her that he hadn't packed anything like that for his holiday. Willow had giggled and Buffy had been dispatched to the basement to retrieve the box with his name marked on it. "What on earth?" he had asked as he pulled out several notebooks and items of clothing, including two tweed suits and some very baggy sweaters. Buffy had shrugged her shoulders "We figured you didn't want them anymore but we couldn't really bring ourselves to throw them out" Now, looking at himself in the mirror he struggled to remember the early days when this had been his uniform. He was still staring at himself when he heard Willow and Mrs. Wayne returning. He stepped out into the corridor and found Ernie watching him from the door of his adjoining room. He left Willow to sort out the domestic issues and followed the old man into his room. 

"Did you find out what happened to Mike?" he asked as he sat down in the high backed chair.

"I think so" Giles nodded. "We managed to track down a spirit who thought you were all in danger and was trying to warn everyone to leave before it was too late" he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Unfortunately he didn't know that the usage of the building had changed in the last two hundred years and his exhortations to leave and explanations of the danger were probably overwhelming enough to frighten a person to death" he paused. "Do you know if Mike had any heart problems?"

Ernie stared down at his hands clasped in his lap for a moment or two before answering. "He had survived three fairly large coronaries over the last ten years and his doctor had just recently upped his medication" he shook his head. "What happens now?"

Giles stood to pace, taking the chance to look at the many photographs on the wall. "Willow and I persuaded the spirit that the danger was over and done with many years ago and that he could leave this place" he turned to look at the old man. "I don't think you will be getting any more visits but I will be suggesting some works be carried out to change the floorplan of the building" he indicated the room around him. "Part of the reason for the spirit's insistence was the uncanny resemblance of this building to the one previously destroyed."

Ernie looked up at him. "I was at the opening of this home fifteen years ago" he smiled at the memory. "Mayor Wilkins cut the ribbon and we all clapped and sipped our cheap wine as the first residents were wheeled in" 

Giles returned to sit on the bed. "You were still a serving police officer?"

"Yes, the Mayor liked his photocalls to have a uniform in them, reminded people how strong he was on law and order" Ernie shrugged his shoulders to acknowledge the irony. "I didn't have any idea at the time that I would eventually live here but I remember thinking that it was real nice that a serving official took such an interest in the welfare of the older members of society. It was in all of the papers that he had overseen the design himself to make it as accessible as possible"

Giles nodded "I suspected as much, a few changes to the usage of certain rooms and perhaps a sun terrace or two tacked onto the building should change it enough to negate any further interference"

Ernie stood up and stared at the picture of him next to the mayor. "To this day I still can't believe he had us all duped" he shook his head. "A few of the senior officers disappeared after you blew up what he had become, but nobody else had any idea of his influence"

Giles stood up as well and rested his hand on the man's shoulder. "There was no reason you should have, he was a very intelligent man who had been around for over three hundred years by the time the Ascension took place" he headed for the door. "If you have any further problems please contact Willow on this number and she can contact me if it is necessary, however, I meant it when I said that there shouldn't be any more occurrences"

Ernie took the card and shook his hand. "I'm sorry I was rude to you the last time we met, I was just so used to seeing you turning up every time we had a strange dead body that I didn't believe you were on the right side"

Giles smiled and shook his hand warmly. "Professional hazard I'm afraid"

Ernie smiled as Willow joined them in the corridor. "Is that the explanation for the bruises?" he asked.

Willow giggled. "Sporting injury" she suggested and looked so honest and innocent that Ernie didn't have the nerve to disagree with her. 

Giles shook his head and put his arm around her shoulders. "Have you finished cleaning up the mess you made?" he asked and winked at Ernie over her head.

"Yes, professor" she simpered and pulled away from his arm. "Let's just say goodbye to Mrs. Wayne and we can get to that other meeting we have planned for this afternoon" she winked in a completely unsubtle way and then grinned at both of them. "Ernie, can you let Kate and Sheila know that the problem has been cleared up and I think Xander will probably be around to visit them soon to make sure everything is OK?"

Ernie nodded and smiled at her. "Will you come back to brighten up our days as well?" he asked and was delighted when she nodded. "Take care of the professor here" he nodded towards Giles and walked off down the corridor to find the others.

Mrs. Wayne came out of Mike's room and looked a little worried. "How long do you think the smell will take to go away?" she looked towards Giles again. "I have some prospective client's coming to see the room tomorrow morning and I don't want them thinking we encourage smoking of any kind"

Giles tried desperately not to laugh and refused to look at Willow, knowing she would undoubtedly set him off. "I think the smoke should have dissipated completely within an hour or so and perhaps the liberal use of some room freshener would suffice to clear the smell" he turned away as the smile won the battle and he had to take a deep breath to stop the giggles. "I'm sorry" he mumbled when he turned back around. "The séance has tired me and I should get some rest before my next appointment" he had placed his hand over his eyes and could hear Willow coughing behind him in a losing battle. "Ms. Rosenberg, have you quite finished?" he asked and glanced at her, sticking his tongue out so that only she could see.

She stared at him for a moment, determined not to react to his taunting. She took a deep breath and turned to look at the bewildered woman. "I'm sorry Mrs. Wayne but sometimes defeating the powers of darkness weakens the professor, it would be best if I accompanied him to make sure he is OK"

Giles lowered his head and groaned dramatically to cover his grin. He felt Willow's hand in the small of his back and allowed himself to be guided down the corridor to the front door. "Of course" Mrs. Wayne hurried along beside them. "Will you be OK professor, perhaps some tea before you go?" He managed to draw out an even deeper groan and was sure that his ribs were going to ache for days with the pain of keeping from laughing out loud. 

"No, I must insist" Willow practically shouted. "The professor needs to get to bed as soon as possible, it really is the best thing for him when he is in this condition"

By this time they were standing outside the door and Willow reached out to shake the woman's hand. "We'll submit our report in due course and I'll contact you in a week or so to make sure everything has settled down"

"Goodbye," Mrs. Wayne waved as they set off. "I hope you feel better soon Professor Giles" she shouted as the pair disappeared into their car.

Giles was sitting in the passenger seat, his hands over his eyes still and his other arm wrapped around his ribs, shaking with laughter. "You are evil" he giggled. " `get to bed as soon as possible' " he quoted and finally chanced a look at her as she drove them around the corner of the building. "We've just eradicated a two hundred and ten-year-old spirit that was killing off her paying customers and she was worried about the smell" he finally gasped out and leaned back in his seat to laugh out loud.

Willow was laughing with him. "You should have heard her complain about the ring of sand and herbs" she finally managed to get out. "Thank goddess for vacuum cleaners, I thought she was going to make me scrub the carpet"

They finally got their collective breaths back after a couple of blocks and he glanced out of the window. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Buffy's house is back the other way"

"I know" Willow nodded and looked at him a little sheepishly. "I just wanted to find Xander and tell him that the thing was done with" she shrugged as he stared at her. "His latest project is on the outskirts of town and I thought we could drop by and give him the good news"

"What happened to getting me into bed as a matter of urgency?" he sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him, folding his arms at the same time.

"We need to have the serious talk first and I'd rather sort out the thing with Xander before we tackle anything else" she pouted a little. "Please, I promise it will be worth the wait?"

He sighed dramatically and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Luckily for you, I'm still in a good mood from the magic earlier or we would be having our first argument right about now" he suggested dryly.

Willow smiled a little sadly and put her hand on his arm. "We have the rest of our lives together but I need to know I'm OK with Xander, it just feels wrong to not have him be a part of this"

He nodded grudgingly and patted her hand. "I'll behave but I'm warning you, I will defend myself this time"


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the Mature rating starts to kick in

"Come in" he shouted and continued to concentrate on the drawings in front of him. He waited for the other person to speak and finally looked up impatiently to ask what they wanted. "Willow!" he said and moved around the table. "Is everything OK?"

"Everything's fine Xan, I just came to let you know that the home is all clear and Kate and Sheila are looking forward to your next visit" she smiled and wondered a little aimlessly around his office. "So this is where you work?" she finally said and picked up a yellow hard hat before investigating it thoroughly.

"Yeah" he nodded, not afraid of the reasons for her visit anymore but a little worried. "That's great about the bad guy, what was it?" he asked.

"Spirit from the sect, he was hanging around to warn everyone that the demon was coming for them so Giles and I brought him up to date and he agreed to skeedadle" she put the hat down and turned to face him.

He had flinched when she mentioned Giles. "You OK with the magic and stuff?" he asked and pulled out a chair for her.

"Yeah, better than OK, everything went really well and Giles said I was super control girl so�" she drummed her fingers on the tabletop and continued to stand. 

"What you doing Saturday night?" Xander finally broke the silence that had settled between them.

Willow looked up and tilted her head to the side. "Probably recovering from the shopping trip with Buffy, Dawn and�" she suggested with a slight smile.

"Giles, I get it already" he interrupted her and waved his hand in the air. "So you'll all be glad of the chance to sit down and watch some videos at my place?"

"All of us?" she asked and folded her arms across her chest.

"There's already too many women in my life, I can't afford to lose one of my few male friends" he suggested and looked down at the drawings. "Is he OK?" he asked without looking up.

"Once the bruising has gone down in a couple of weeks he should be fine" she nodded. "Of course he's lucky that Buffy knew how to reset broken noses and that I happen to like the new shape"

She continued to stare at him as he took a deep breath and finally looked up at her. "Do you love him?" he asked.

"I think I might" she nodded. "We're going to take the next few weeks to work some things out but, yes, I think I probably do" Her eyes held his for a few moments before she finally looked away. "He's waiting in the car for me, I'd better get going and let you get back to work"

Giles looked anxiously at her as she slid back into the car. "Is everything alright between you?" he asked.

"I think it will be" she nodded and put on her seat belt. "We're all going to the movie night at his place on Saturday so I guess we'll know better after that"

"Perhaps it would be better if I gave it a miss, I'm sure you would all enjoy yourselves more if I wasn't there" he pulled out of the car park and headed towards Buffy's.

"Giles we can't avoid being seen out together just to keep other people happy" she rested her hand on his thigh. "Xander did say he wanted you there and I think you'll both have to sort out some way to deal with this, preferably sooner rather than later"

Dawn looked up guiltily as they arrived home. "Hey, guys" she smiled and waved at them. "Did everything go OK?" she asked.

"Everything is fine, problem is solved and Xander's movie marathon is definitely on for Saturday night" Willow replied. "Hello Martin, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No thank you, I was just helping Dawn with her math homework but I have to be home by six thirty" he replied and looked a little surprised as Giles walked past him on his way to the kitchen. "Mr. Giles, what happened to your face?"

Giles stopped and shook his head. "It's a long story" he began but Dawn interrupted him.

"He got hit," she said succinctly and returned to her textbook. "What were you saying about this equation?" she tried to get Martin's attention. The young boy shook his head and looked back towards the book to answer her question.

Giles and Willow headed for the kitchen. "Why was Dawn looking so guilty when we came in?" Giles whispered.

Willow shook her head and giggled before nodding her head in the direction of the back door. Giles nodded his agreement and carried two glasses of juice out with him. "She's not really supposed to have friends over without one of us being here and she knows that I know I helped her with the math homework earlier this week" She sighed as she settled onto the top step and took her drink from him as he settled next to her.

"She must really like him?" Giles suggested as he removed his jacket. "Doing maths homework twice is above and beyond the call of duty"

Willow nodded. "I used to pretend to do homework I had already done just to spend more time with you in the library" she admitted and raised her face to the sun. 

"That would be the occasions when I was reorganising my card index for the fourth time to keep you safe?" he suggested and turned to look at her. 

They remained quiet for five minutes, both remembering the times they had spent together in the library. Eventually, Willow took another drink and turned to meet his gaze. "So?" she said and raised her eyebrows.

"Indeed" he replied and took a drink of his juice, his eyes smiling at her over the rim of the glass.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Alright, I'll go first" she agreed and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I have no idea how we are going to work this out between us and I know that you have to return to England in a couple of weeks. The only things I do know are that I'm probably in love with you and I'm very confused by that and you are a great kisser" she finished in a bit of a rush and took a gulp of her juice.

He smiled at her and reached out to gather her hand in his. "I also have no idea what we are going to do but I have some good news" he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I don't have to go back for at least four weeks and I know that I am definitely in love with you and am surprisingly unconfused by that" he nodded. "Oh, and you do have some potential yourself in the kissing stakes"

"So it doesn't bother you anymore?" she asked and tried to concentrate her mind away from the sensations aroused by the hand kissing thing he was continuing with. "The gay/straight thing, cause it seemed to bother you yesterday and I haven't done anything in the meantime to clear it up for me so I don't think I could have resolved it for you"

He sighed and lifted her other hand, transferring his attention. "I think I just accepted that I'll have to be jealous of everyone on the planet and not restrict it to a specific gender" he shrugged. "I'm prepared to fight off competition for you either from other women or other men"

"What about the age thing?" she asked as her breathing quickened, he had started to nibble her fingers. 

He shrugged again and smiled at her around her index finger. "I'm sure I'll be able to keep up with you and I can always start working out again if you think I'm slowing down"

"Wait a minute," she said in an exasperated tone and pulled her hands away from him. "Yesterday you were all about the barriers and the problems and now today you're all about the kissing and the licking and nibbling" she seemed to lose track of the point she had been trying to make. "This is a life changing decision Giles, you need to take it seriously" she furrowed her brow and dared him to make another joke.

He started to reach for her hand again but she pulled away and he sighed. "Over the past two days I have been propositioned by an extremely attractive young woman with whom I've been secretly, madly in love for the past couple of years" he began. "Shortly after this, I became a gibbering idiot and nearly spoiled the entire process by saying some incredibly stupid things to her. Once I had apologised we kissed and this was interrupted by several different people, including one of her ex-boyfriends who proceeded to beat me up when I told him of my love for her" he took a deep breath. "On top of all of this, I have helped to rid a residential home of an unwelcome spirit and fought off the unwanted attentions of another woman" He held up his hand to prevent her interruption. "As if none of that was enough I have jet lag from hell and plans to spend all day Saturday in an American Mall shopping for shoes before undergoing the ultimate torture of a video night with chick flicks and action movies" He noticed that she was staring at him with her mouth slightly open and reached up to run his fingers over her lips. "In spite of all of this I am, without a doubt, the luckiest man on the planet" he let his hand fall to his side. "I know how important this decision is Willow, but it's also one of the easiest I've ever made in my life. Nothing else matters to me as long as I get to hold you and kiss you and be with you for the rest of my life"

"But you're going to be six thousand miles away and I can't leave the Hellmouth" she frowned. "I'm not sure I can have four weeks of `us' and then say goodbye to you till the next holiday visit"

"I know" he nodded and dropped his head to gaze intently at the wooden step he was sitting on. "But I'm hoping that we can sort something out, after all, I move around a lot with my job and I'm sure Buffy and Xander could cope if we worked out a schedule whereby you came to England when I couldn't get here"

"Giles I don't think I can make that work, I couldn't make it work with Oz and he lived on the same campus" she was pleading with him to come up with another answer. "I know you think of England as your home and you have friends there but isn't there any way you could come back here permanently?"

"Can't we at least try it my way first?" he suggested, trying to make her see that he wanted this to work. "You know that I would come back here if that was the only way to be with you but the reasons for my leaving haven't changed in the last year and I don't want to go down that road again"

Willow thought about what he had said for some minutes before answering. "I think you are wrong, Buffy is coping really well on her own now and she wouldn't go back to relying on you for everything if you came back" she drew her knees up and rested her chin on them. "But I guess I could try it your way for a while to see if it would work out" she nodded. "I do need to be with you, and I don't expect you to give up your home and friends and job again just to prove how much you love me"

They stayed next to each other, watching the sun go down over the houses behind the garden. Buffy found them twenty minutes later. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

Giles was the first to stir and looked round to smile at her. "Everything is fine. The spirit at the home has been despatched and Willow talked to Xander this afternoon" he stood up and lifted his empty glass. "I'm going to get out of this suit and into something a little less tweedy" he smiled and headed indoors.

Buffy took his seat and looked towards Willow. "Hey Will, how was Xander?" she asked, a little concerned at the faraway look on her friend's face.

Willow roused herself and turned to look at Buffy. "He was fine, said the movie night is still on and that it was OK if Giles made an appearance" she smiled a little.

"So what's with you two sitting out here all contemplatey?" Buffy asked.

"We were just trying to work out how we were going to work things out" Willow replied and sighed. "He seems to think that I'm sweating over the small stuff too much and we should just kiss and get on with it" she shrugged. "I think we also agreed to try and commute for kisses once he goes back home"

Buffy looked a little confused. "He's OK with the gay thing now?"

"Yeah, that surprised me a little as well" Willow admitted. "But he explained it and I sort of agreed with him then he was kissing my hand and I sort of lost track of why I was so worried about it in the first place" she admitted and looked a little confused herself.

"He isn't going to come back here to stay?" Buffy asked, unsure of her reaction irrespective of Willow's answer. 

"Not at first" Willow nodded and turned to look at Buffy. "I know this must be really weird for you but he can't really drop everything and come back again so we're going to try and work out lots of visits" Buffy looked a little skeptical. "I know" Willow agreed. "But I can't go and live with him in England, what happens if you need me here and I'm there eating scones and drinking warm beer?"

Buffy shrugged. "Same as happens when we need him, I phone and you come back"

Willow looked at her friend for several minutes. "I'm getting really confused that everyone seems to see no problem with me falling in love with a man and moving six thousand miles away" she shook her head. "All I can see are the problems with that"

Buffy put her hand on Willow's arm. "Look, if you are in love with him and he won't move back here then you need to move there" she explained. "You gave up the chance to escape the Hellmouth when you chose to go the UC Sunnydale and it's not fair to make you give up another chance, particularly when it's about something this important"

Willow nodded and sniffed a little. "It's just that I promised myself I would spend the rest of my life protecting everyone around me from the Hellmouth and I kinda need to be here to do that" she wiped her eyes and sniffed again. "I don't think remote remorse works the same as being here"

Buffy pulled her into a hug. "Willow, you've saved hundreds of lives over the six years we've been here and that's not counting the apocalypses you've helped to stop" she rubbed her friend's back and held onto her as she started sobbing in her arms. "You don't need to torture yourself or Giles by staying here"

Giles listened from his bedroom window and muttered under his breath. "Bugger, I thought she was over this" he turned from the window and found Dawn staring at him. "Dawn" he smiled uncertainly and moved towards the door. "I was opening the window for some fresh air" he ad-libbed.

Dawn shook her head. "For someone in your job you are a lousy liar" she suggested and headed for her own room.

He started to argue with her then shook his head and went to change instead.

Twenty minutes later he had just put down the phone when Buffy came into the kitchen. "Hey Giles, good work on the golden ghost" she smiled and headed past him to the front door. "Need to see some vampires about a kitten, I'll see you later" she shouted over her shoulder and shut the door behind her.

He went to the back door to find Willow and found her still sitting in the same position. "Hey, don't you want to get out of those clothes?" he asked and blushed furiously as she turned to look at him with an incredulous look. "I just meant to change into something more comfortable and less smoky" he finally managed, cleaning his glasses with extreme prejudice.

Willow shook her head and laughed at him. "I think you've had one too many head knocks, you're turning into a character from a Carry On movie" she giggled. When she had finally stopped laughing she stood up and looked at him. She made a point of obviously checking him out before stepping closer to him and putting her arms around his waist. "You look good, have you lost some weight since your last visit?"

He shrugged and pulled her hips tight against his. "Just toned everything up a bit and bought some new clothes"

She moved her hands to clasp them behind his neck and leaned in for a gentle kiss. "I think I might be biased but tight black jeans really suit you" she smiled at him. "Perhaps I will go and change, give me fifteen minutes then maybe we could go out for some dinner, just the two of us?"

He looked a little surprised then leaned down for another kiss. "If that's what you want, I'll wait down here?" he asked hopefully.

"I think that would be for the best" she shook her head and sighed. "Perhaps you could phone and reserve a table somewhere"

Half an hour later they were walking towards the centre of town. He had his arm around her shoulders and she was trying to explain the principles behind the spell she had undertaken on her return. "Anya thought I was set on world domination and it was only the rabbits being there that persuaded her to leave Buffy and I alone in the shop" she giggled and turned to face him. "The spell to endow them with the human pheromones took about half an hour and it worked just like we hoped. Then we let them loose in the basement and gave them an hour before we checked to see if it had worked out. Buffy helped me gather them back up and we took another fifteen minutes to de-pheromone them" she gasped for air as she practically bounced with the remembered excitement. "Everything went just as planned and the whole thing was over in two hours max but it took Xander four hours to prove to her that there weren't any bunnies left in the shop"

Giles was caught up in her laughter and hugged her. "At least the spell worked and the storeroom is back in use again" he smiled. He stopped outside a restaurant. "I booked a table here, is that OK for you?" he asked.

"Pizza!" she smiled up at him. "It's perfect and I'm starving"

***** 

"I insist" Willow put on her resolve face, marred slightly by having tomato sauce on her chin.

He sighed and leaned across to wipe it up with his thumb before handing his credit card to the waiter. "Willow if this is our first official date then I absolutely insist on paying for our dinner" he signed the voucher and returned it to the waiter. "I have never had a woman pay for dinner on a first date and I never will" he thanked the waiter for the return of his card and left a generous tip before holding his hand out to her.

"It's just so old fashioned" she complained. "But, hopefully, this is the last first date you'll ever go on" she took his hand and they turned towards home. 

"I suppose so" he answered and reached down to kiss the top of her head. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

She looked a little surprised "I thought we could go back to the house and see if the sofa is any more comfortable than last night" She reached up and kissed him, one hand reaching behind his head to ruffle his hair. The kiss advanced quickly and Willow pulled back a moment later to lick her lips and gaze up into his eyes. 

He was breathing heavily and ran his hand down the side of her face before taking a step away from her. "Persuasive as your argument is Ms. Rosenberg I think it might be better to take the long route home and continue the serious talk from earlier"

"But I thought we had agreed that we were together now and the problems were all overcomeable" she pouted and stopped walking. "Are you having second thoughts already?"

He shook his head and pulled her close to him again to hug her. "Willow, this is the one problem that isn't overcomeable" he pulled back to look into her eyes. "By the way that isn't really a word"

She nodded and looked miserable. "What have I done now?"

"Despite your protestations yesterday and today, you don't really believe that you are in love with me nor that I am in love with you" he shook his head and raised his hand to forestall her interruption. "You are stuck in the same mindset as the Guilen spirit, he didn't believe he deserved to rest and was determined to continue his self imposed exile in order to punish himself"

Willow shook her head vigorously and followed him as he started to walk away from her. "You are wrong, I do believe that I'm in love with you and I'm getting there in believing that you feel the same for me" she pulled his arm to slow him down. "I'll spend the rest of my life paying for what I did but I'm not hurting anyone else"

"Except me?" he suggested and took his glasses off to look at her. "Willow, if you never allow yourself to be truly happy again then I will spend the rest of my life in the fruitless pursuit of trying to bring about an impossibility" She stared at him and slowly shook her head as he continued. "You don't trust me when I say that the obstacles in our path are not going to stop me and I'm not about to have second thoughts" he rested his hand on her shoulder.

She stared at him for some minutes before reaching out and touching his face. "I do want to be happy again and I think you are the very person for the job" she took a deep breath. "I talked with Buffy today and she persuaded me that it wasn't such a biggie for me to move to England. So I think that we should spend the next few weeks sorting out some sort of early warning system for everyone here and then I'll go back with you when you need to leave"

He stared at her in astonishment. "But you told Buffy that you wouldn't leave because you couldn't protect them from a distance" he knew he was admitting to eavesdropping but didn't want her to make this decision for the wrong reasons. "I don't want you to come back because you think it's what I want, it needs to be what you want"

"What I want is to be with you, in every way possible" she glared at him. "If that means I have to become your research assistant and travel the world at your side then I will" Her face fell a little and she sniffed. "I am just so fed up with heavy conversations and crying about this" she suddenly got angry and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "My decision is made and you can either debate it further by yourself or come over here and kiss me" She was a little surprised at the speed with which he was suddenly standing in front of her. "Please Giles?" she whispered and wrapped her arms around his neck as he bent down to kiss her. If she had thought the earlier contact was intense she was completely unprepared for the ferocity and gentleness embodied within this kiss. "Wow" she finally mumbled when they surfaced. "Can we go home now please?" she asked and met his eyes as they stared at her. 

She was reassured that she wasn't alone in feeling overwhelmed by her emotions when he raised his arm. "Taxi" he shouted and handed her into the cab when it pulled up. "Ten dollars if you can make it in five minutes" he assured the driver and stared straight ahead, without saying a word, for the entire journey. Six minutes later he handed her out of the car and held onto her hand for the journey up the front path. "I don't want to test out the sofa again" he whispered in her ear as they stood on the front porch and he leaned down to kiss her. "Where else can you suggest?"

"You're the one with your own room Mr. Giles, you work it out" she ran her hand round his hip to squeeze the back pocket of his jeans. 

He pulled her tight against him as he reached behind his back to open the front door. They practically fell into the front hall and realised they were busted when Buffy tapped Willow on the shoulder. 

"Am I glad you guys are back?" she smiled sweetly at Giles as he glared at her over Willow's shoulder. "Martin and Dawn are settling down to watch a video and I have to go out for that `appointment' so chaperonage looms, no tux required this time Giles" She grabbed her jacket and pushed past Willow before either of them had a chance to argue. "See you in a few hours"

By the time the front door had slammed behind her and Giles was working up to using a very ungentlemanly suggestion as to what the slayer could do with her idea, Dawn was standing next to them looking very embarrassed. "I'm sorry but Martin's mom said he could come over then Buffy said Martin could only stay if someone else was here. I tried Xander's but he's gone out with some of his work buddies and Anya isn't answering her phone" she took in the deep breaths both of them were taking and became even more embarrassed. "I know you would probably rather be doing something else but perhaps you could just stay with us for ten minutes to make sure she's definitely gone?"

Willow gathered herself first and put her hand out to rest on Giles' chest. She could feel his heart hammering and didn't want to risk looking into his eyes. "We can manage to watch one video with them, can't we?" She felt him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why don't I fix some munchies while you keep them company?"

When she returned with a tray she found Dawn and Martin sitting glumly at either end of the sofa with Giles between them. She giggled and stared at him in disbelief. "Could you give me a hand with something in the kitchen Giles?" she asked and walked towards the dining room. "Dawn, you and Martin help yourselves to some popcorn and start the video, we'll be back in five minutes"

She turned to stare at him as he followed her into the kitchen. "What are you doing?" she whispered. "Just because our plans were ruined it doesn't mean Martin and Dawn have to be miserable"

He sighed and rolled his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'll stop being mean to them but I can't promise I won't have suitable revenge for Buffy"

She pulled the front of his shirt until he was leaning against her. She settled herself more comfortably against the worktop before reaching up to kiss him. It started out as light kisses along his lips and down his jawline to his neck but soon escalated to sloppy french kisses when he placed his hands on either side of her head and returned her lips to his. After five minutes of this, they parted and stared at each other for several moments. "I can't go back in there in this state" he finally mumbled and pushed his hips against hers to demonstrate his concerns. "What do you suggest?"

She ground her hips against his and moaned. "Not really up to thinking at the moment" she admitted and bit her lower lip as his hand ran down her side to rest on her hip. "Why don't you go upstairs and I'll join you as soon as I can?" she licked at the sweat that had gathered in the hollow of his throat and felt the movement of his adam's apple as he gulped.

"Don't be long" he growled in her ear and nipped her earlobe before turning abruptly and heading upstairs.

She took a couple of minutes to gather her wits and tried to make it look less like she had been semi-ravished. Plastering a grin on her face she returned to the living room just in time to see Martin jumping back to his end of the sofa. She recognised the ridiculousness of the situation and couldn't stop the laughter. "Listen, Giles and I have some work to do upstairs so keep the noise down and behave yourselves" she shook her head. "If you need anything just shout, OK?"

Dawn was grinning back at her and nodded towards the TV. "Remind me to tell you what happens in the movie so you can pretend to Buffy that you watched it with us"

"Like you'll be watching the movie?" Willow giggled as she walked slowly upstairs. She took a deep breath when she reached the top hallway and decided a quick stop in the bathroom would be the last interruption to her plans for the rest of the night.

Giles was standing looking out of the bedroom window when she finally opened the door. She was overcome with conflicting emotions and let the moan escape her lips before she could stop it. He turned and tilted his head to the side as he watched her leaning against the doorway. After an obvious shudder, she moved into the room and closed the door behind her. He looked a little confused as he met her and gathered her into his arms. "Are you OK?" he mumbled into her hair.

"Fine" she took a shuddering breath and let his scent wipe away the remaining memories.

He decided to take her word and not start another discussion on her anxieties. "What did you tell Dawn and Martin?" he grinned and moved away from her to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Told them we had some work to do and not to make too much noise" she grinned and felt herself return to her earlier aroused state. "And that goes double for you" she put her finger on his chest as she stood in front of him.

He shook his head, took his glasses off and placed them on the bedside table. This was followed by his watch before he turned back to her, put his arms around her waist and pulled her to stand between his legs. "I can't promise but I'll try my best" he brought his hands back around to begin unbuttoning her shirt. As each button was opened he placed a soft kiss against her skin. He could hear her breathing quicken and felt the abdominal muscles tighten as he worked his way up from the bottom button. When he reached her bra he quickly opened the rest of the buttons and stood up to remove her shirt. 

She had taken a step back when he stood up and almost sank to the ground as he pulled her shirt off and started to kiss her neck and shoulder. She felt his arms go round her to hold her up and leaned into him. After a brief moment, she realised that he was doing all of the work and set about redressing the balance by undressing him. 

He had to stop kissing her for a moment to remove his shirt and took the opportunity to loosen his belt and kick off his shoes. "God, you are beautiful" he whispered and held her at arm's length. 

She ran her hands across his bare chest and pushed him back onto the bed. As he landed she crawled next to him and began sucking on one of his nipples while she pinched the other one.

"Bloody Hell" he shouted and clamped his hand over his own mouth. "Sorry" he whispered when she glared up at him. "You just took me by surprise" he shrugged his shoulders and shuffled backward until his legs were on the bed as well. He pulled her up to lie next to him. "Perhaps we should take things a little more slowly?" he suggested as he licked her ear and kissed her neck. 

"We can do slow tomorrow morning, right now I want you hard and fast" she reached down to unfasten her jeans and pushed them off. "I've waited too long for this and I think I'll probably explode if I don't feel you inside me soon" She didn't wait for his answer as she reached down to remove his jeans and boxers. Her lips fastened onto his as she moved one of her legs between his and rested half on, half off his chest.

"Oh, shit" he moaned as he rolled away from her and sat up on the side of the bed. "I don't believe I'm saying this but we have to stop"

"Oh come on! You have got to be joking" she glared at him and knelt in the centre of the bed, her chest rising and falling as she gulped in air. "What is it now?" she asked incredulously.

He had started to pace at the side of the bed and seemed completely unaware of the effect he was having on her as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't believe how stupid I am" he mumbled almost to himself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid" he started a mantra to fit the pacing.

"Giles" she hissed at him. "Five seconds to get back on this bed or I'm really going to lose my temper" she glared at him. 

He stopped and looked at her, picking up the power starting to converge within the room and tried to calm himself and her. "Willow, please darling, think about what you are doing?"

"I'm thinking about what we were doing, about what we were about to do" she was still breathing heavily and he watched her breasts rise and fall with each gulped breath. "What is the problem, exactly?" she reined in her power and shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.

"I don't have any protection with me" he mumbled, mortified and developed a sudden interest in the carpet.

"Within ten paces we have four crucifixes, three bottles of holy water and a crossbow, how protected do you want to be?" she asked, completely at a loss.

"Not that" he waved his hand and sat on the edge of the bed, his earlier arousal almost completely gone. "I mean prophylactically" he shrugged. "I didn't pack anything, didn't expect to need it and today has just flown by and I didn't get a chance to visit a chemist so.." he ground to a halt as he saw her eyes flash.

"You don't have any condoms?" she asked and shook her head when he nodded. "Do not move from there!" she ordered and stood up at the side of the bed. Picking up his black oxford shirt she pulled it on over her underwear and ferociously pulled open the bedroom door. "I'm serious, no moving" she wagged her finger at him and stormed down the hallway. She was mumbling under her breath as she strode towards the room she was currently sharing with Buffy. "Why couldn't he just tell me instead of wasting all that time?" she growled as she opened the closet door and knelt down to pull a small wooden box from behind the bags of weapons on the floor. She grunted as she slammed the doors shut again and dumped the box and its contents onto Buffy's bed. Several small ziplock bags spilled out and she cursed as she gathered them together. With her other hand, she was fishing around the bottom of the box and finally smiled as she pulled out several foil-wrapped packages. She took the time to carefully replace the ziplock bags into the box but left it on Buffy's bed. She shook her head, her life was very strange and anyone else would assume the bags contained illegal substances but they were the ingredients for various protection spells, given to her for the Slayer when she left the coven.

"Willow?" she heard him whispering her name. 

She stepped out of the room and let the shirt fall open. "What did I tell you about moving?" she kept eye contact and stalked up the hallway towards him. "I'm fairly sure that someone of your intellect must understand the words" she pushed the door closed behind her and shrugged her shoulders to let the shirt drop back onto the floor. She held up the condoms and placed them carefully on the bedside table, keeping one in her hand. "Now, where were we?" she took a couple of steps backward and sat on the edge of the bed. 

He was watching her, the sight of her marching down the hall in his shirt and little else had brought him close to his earlier state of arousal. If he needed any more encouragement she was now sitting staring at his groin with a mischievous look on her face. 

Willow took a deep breath and shook her head, smiling up at him as she pulled his hand to bring him next to her on the bed. "Is there anything else stopping us having hot, sweaty, quiet sex in this very bed within the next few minutes?" she quietly asked and handed him the condom. "I was going to offer but I'm a little out of practice and in a hurry, so you'd better do it yourself"

He didn't answer, just slowly pulled her back so that they were lying next to each other across the bed. He dropped the condom behind him and used both hands to quickly remove her bra and panties. "I think that's the last obstacles out of the way" he mumbled as he pulled her onto her side and kissed her neck. His right hand dropped onto her left breast and began gently teasing her nipple. 

She rested her arm behind his head, arching against him as he hot-wired her with the skill of a veteran. As she came back down she rolled onto her back and he took the opportunity that the new position afforded him to slide down and begin sucking on her right breast. Her hand clamped his head into this position and a high pitched keening sound started.

He took his time, licking and sucking one nipple to a peak before turning to the other and lavishing the same attention on it. All the time he kept glancing to see her face, eyes tightly shut and mouth open to allow her to gasp for breath. After a few minutes, he pushed himself up and began kissing her, meeting her tongue as it darted out to moisten her lips. Taking the opportunity, he sucked her tongue into his mouth. 

As she moaned against his lips she was vaguely aware of his left hand trailing down her side to rest on her abdomen. Her muscles spasmed uncontrollably as she crunched up to meet his touch. She could hear and taste his chuckle as he continued to kiss her. When his fingers slowly crept downwards her brain gave up any pretense of leadership and threw its hands up in defeat. At this unconditional surrender, her nervous system took control and she writhed on the bed in an attempt to place his fingers exactly where she wanted them.

He could feel her squirming underneath him and pulled away from her lips for a moment to gather his wits and get his breath back. Her eyes snapped open as she finally registered his movement and she met his eyes steadily. "Why did you stop?" she asked quietly and closed her eyes again for a second or two as his fingers found a particularly sensitive spot. "Stopping not good" she hissed and grabbed his wrist to persuade him to return his fingers to the correct place. "Please?" she sighed as she arched off the bed and moaned.

"I just need to remember this" he whispered as he nibbled her earlobe and neck. "You are gorgeous and I'm going to picture you like this every time I think of this night"

"Night's only just begun" she growled and pushed his shoulders to get him on his back before rolling on top of him. "I need to feel you inside me, please?" she ran her hands down his chest, stopping to tweak his nipples on the way to his groin. She gently stroked his erection and watched fascinated as it hardened even more in her hands. "Do you want me?" she asked and continued what she was doing as she waited for his answer.

"More than I've ever wanted anyone before" he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Good answer" she nodded and leaned across his chest to pick up the condom. Carefully ripping the package open she placed it at the tip and slowly unrolled it. She waited till his eyes opened again before leaning down to kiss him. Crawling towards him a little further she lifted her hips and slowly settled onto him. "Oh goddessssss," she hissed and rested her hands on his chest. With an effort, she sat up straight and took a deep breath before gently lifting up and sliding back down. "Like riding a bike" she giggled and increased the pace a little.

He had closed down the higher brain functions when she had put the condom on him and the next few seconds were taken up with him furiously thinking about cricket. After she had settled into a steady rhythm he risked opening his eyes and gasped as he watched her head roll back and a lazy grin spread across her face. His hands rested on her hips and helped to keep her steady but he decided that she had taken enough of the initiative. "Willow?" he said quietly and ran his left hand down her thigh. "Honey, look at me" he gently rubbed the inside of her thigh and took a deep breath as she managed to take even more of his erection on her next down stroke. 

The lazy grin had changed into a more concentrated smile and she eventually pulled herself together enough to look down at him. "OK?" she managed to ask between shallow, fast breaths.

"I love you," he said seriously and used her distraction to run his hand up to her clitoris and gently brush against the sensitive tissue. "I love you," he said again and again as he met her on every down stroke.

She had built up a steady rhythm and was fairly sure she could spend the next hour or so impaling herself on his cock before she could even imagine getting tired. When he said her name she took a moment or two to relish the friction before grinning down at him. She saw him looking up at her with a serious look on his face and checked that he was enjoying this as much as she was. Physical sensations had become the most important thing in her world but when he said the magic words she instantly felt as if her body had received a flash upgrade. Suddenly the emotions behind what they were doing flooded through her and every sensation was magnified tenfold. With the introduction of his fingers into the equation, she went into overload and centered all of her concentration on the tingle starting in her lower back. 

As she ground down at the bottom of her thrust he pushed up with his fingers. This coupled with his other hand finding her nipple caused the rhythm to break down completely and he wondered how she managed to keep her balance when all of her strength seemed to be concerned with pounding down onto his cock. He felt the muscles deep within her begin to tremor and knew she was close. A final flick of her nipple seemed to be enough to push her over the edge and he threw his head back as she squirmed in his lap, grinding against his pelvis in an attempt to make the orgasm last.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was biting her lower lip as every muscle in her body hardened and tensed. Just as quickly the most intense pleasure she had ever experienced burst from her abdomen and rushed to reach every single cell in her body. Lights burst behind her eyelids and she held her breath. When she let the breath out she heard the rush of blood around her system intermingled with a guttural scream. As she collapsed onto his chest she felt him thrust into her and the sensations began again. "Not again" she gasped, her tone pleading as her clitoris sent needle sharp messages along her nerves. 

He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest as he rolled them both over. With her now on her back he could control the depth and direction of his penetration and it took only a minute before he felt her muscles contract again as she clenched her thighs around him. As she thrashed beneath him he thrust once more and joined her.

He lay on top of her until he felt the condom begin to loosen. Withdrawing he rolled to the side and deposited it on the floor before rolling back next to her and resting his hand on her stomach. His breathing was still quite fast and he was glad to see that she was having the same trouble in bringing herself back under control. "Are you OK?" he asked and began running his fingers in small circles across her stomach. 

"Give me a minute?" she gasped as her muscles twitched and she squirmed out of his reach. "I don't think OK comes close to what I am" she finally suggested as she recovered the ability to speak coherently.

He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. It wasn't a passionate kiss, just welcoming her back from wherever she had gone and letting her know that he would always be waiting for her.

"That was incredible" she smiled and snuggled against his chest. "I had imagined what it would be like but it was so much better"

"It went pretty well as I imagined," he said but couldn't prevent the giggle from escaping. When she started to tickle him he tried to fight her off before gasping for mercy. "All right" he finally held both of her wrists to prevent a further attack. "It was better than any of my fantasies. You are a sex goddess and I worship at your shrine" 

Willow giggled and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. "You are amazing" she turned her head to stare at him as he rested his head on his left hand. "I always knew you were hiding most of your emotions under the English veneer but I had no idea" she shook her head. "I also guessed that you would have a pretty amazing body under the tweed and I'm glad to say I wasn't wrong about that"

He stood up and held out his hand for her to do the same. As she stood next to him he pulled the quilt back and they both snuggled underneath it. "You are a beautiful, intelligent, sexy woman and I'm the one who should be thanking you for even noticing me, never mind what you've given to me tonight"

She took a deep breath and wriggled against his chest as he pulled her back against him. She yawned and pulled his arm tight around her, starting to feel the effects of the last few days on top of her recent exertion. "I love you" she mumbled and kissed his forearm. "I want to do this for the rest of my life and I'll never get tired of lying in your arms"

"I'm glad to hear it" he kissed the back of her neck. "I plan to do this frequently and I'd hate for you to get tired of it after fifty or sixty years" she snuggled closer to him and her breathing dropped to a deeper rhythm. "I love you Willow Rosenberg" he smiled against her neck and closed his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

Buffy returned from patrol at four in the morning and crept quietly into the house. Her left arm was cradled in her right and she was limping a little as she headed for the kitchen. 

"Buffy, are you alright?" he asked and put the table light on. "Are you hurt?" he stood to help her into a chair. 

"Just a few bumps and bruises" she muttered and winced as he helped her take her coat off. "One of the newbies decided to hotwire a car and see if it was a match for a blonde with a stake" she leaned   
back, exhausted, as he knelt in front of her to take off her boots.

"I'm assuming you showed him the error of his ways?" Giles suggested dryly as he helped her stand before loosening what was left of her jeans and lowering them as she sat back down. "Although I'm guessing he took an early advantage" he got some ice packs from the fridge and placed them strategically around her thigh and knee as it seemed to swell in front of him. 

"Another one up here" she sighed and took the proffered ice pack for her shoulder. "I was definitely winning until he decided to drive through the cemetery wall and that was when everything got a bit complicated" she admitted and winced as he gently probed her shoulder. 

Giles sat back on his haunches and let her catch her breath. "The shoulder is dislocated but I think I can fix that for you here" he watched for the imperceptible nod and continued once he received it. "I don't think you've broken anything in the leg but I would be happier if we could get it X-Rayed to make sure"

"Might as well X-Ray the ribs while I'm there, maybe we'll get two for the price of one" she quipped and lifted the ice pack from her shoulder. "Let's do this first," she said quietly and took a deep breath.

He stretched his fingers and rolled his neck before taking a firm stance in front of her. "Hold onto my arm" he suggested and waited till her healthy hand rested on his elbow. "On the count of three," he said as he took a deep breath. "One, two" he counted before pulling her arm down and towards him at the same time as pushing against her collar bone with all of his strength.

She took several deep breaths and rested her forehead on his chest before glaring up at him. "I knew you were going to do that" she muttered and gently rotated her shoulder. "Thanks, that's a little better" she leaned back in the chair and replaced the ice pack on her shoulder. "Not that I'm not grateful but what are you doing up and about?" she asked as he stepped away from her and sank into a chair on the other side of the dining table. 

"I was just making sure Martin left before you came home and caught them together in bed" he suggested with a completely straight face.

It was an indication of the pain she was in that it took several seconds for his meaning to kick in. "You better be joking" she glared at him. "Or you will be retiring hurt from the chaperone game"

He shook his head and smiled. "Martin left at a perfectly respectable time and Willow was sleeping so I took the chance to make some phone calls"

"How is Willow?" Buffy asked and raised her eyebrow. "I'm guessing I didn't completely ruin your evening?"

"It continued very satisfactorily after you left" he admitted. "Willow is fine if a little exhausted" he added and failed dismally to keep the smug grin off his face. She shook her head and tried to find a more comfortable position on the chair. "Would you be more comfortable on the sofa?" he asked and when she nodded he bent down and gently carried her to the living room. 

"Thanks" she muttered after several shallow breaths. "I don't suppose I should eat or drink anything?" she sighed as he plumped the cushions behind her head and positioned a few under her knee to support it.

"I wouldn't" he shook his head. "Even with your slayer healing they may still have to do some invasive work" he checked his watch. "If I called a cab we might be able to get to the emergency room and back before anyone knew you were gone"

"I think that's a plan" she nodded and rested her head on the cushions. "I could use some different clothes if you don't mind?" she asked and indicated her torn blouse. 

"Would sweats be OK?" he asked and went upstairs to collect them when she nodded. He quickly scribbled a note for Willow and taped it to the bedroom door before heading back downstairs.

Willow woke the next morning to a quiet knocking on the bedroom door. She turned over and was a little confused when her outstretched arm didn't encounter anybody else. Pulling the quilt up to her chin she said "come in" and yawned.

Dawn popped her head around the door. "Sorry to wake you but Giles has just called from the emergency room and he says they are going to be another hour or so" 

"Hospital?" Willow practically jumped out of the bed before remembering and grabbing the quilt. She stood beside the bed, trying to wrap the quilt around her and Dawn took a step back. "Why is he at the hospital?" she shouted before making a conscious effort to rein in her fear.

"He left you a note" Dawn sheepishly admitted and pulled the taped envelope from the door. "He said Buffy was a bit beat up and they had gone there early this morning to check her out" Dawn explained as Willow tore open the envelope and read the message. "He said she's fine but they want a specialist to check out her knee before they let her go"

Taking a deep breath Willow nodded and sat back down on the bed. The note had quickly outlined Buffy's injuries and the fact that he loved Willow very much and was sorry he hadn't been able to wake up next to her after last night. She blushed and finally remembered Dawn was still looking at her in concern. "You call Xander and tell him to come and pick us up in twenty minutes," she said. "I'll get showered and meet you downstairs in fifteen"

Dawn nodded and seemed a little happier about finally having something to do. "I'll make a thermos of tea, Giles never did like the stuff they sell at the hospital" she smiled shyly and was about to leave before turning back. "I'm really sorry about last night, I hope I didn't ruin everything" she shrugged her shoulders and hurried to her room to finish dressing.

Willow closed her eyes and remembered the highlights of the previous night, a smile taking possession of her face as the blush flared again. Dropping the quilt she pulled his dressing gown around herself and breathed in his scent before heading for the shower.

Xander was making breakfast when she made it downstairs. "Hey, no time for food" Willow said anxiously. 

"Willow" Xander began before turning the french toast. "Giles said it would be another hour before the specialist got to them and we can't do anything at the hospital so we may as well have breakfast and go in ten minutes" he explained as he served up a plate to her. "Eat this and I'll phone the hospital to let them know we're on our way" he headed for the phone.

Dawn came in carrying a sports bag and dumped it beside Xander. "Clothes" she smiled at Willow. "Just in case the stuff she was wearing was all gooey"

Willow nodded to the laundry basket. "I think she changed before she left, that's the blouse she was wearing when she went out last night"

Dawn picked it up and they all stared at the tear running from one shoulder down the back almost to the bottom hem. 

Xander hung the phone up and looked towards Willow. "Let's go" he nodded and they all hurried towards his car.

"She's alright" Giles held his hands up to placate the anxious questions. "Everything's going to be OK, they are just being cautious and getting a specialist to give her knee the once over before they let her go" he automatically put his arm around Willow as she moved to his side. "Good morning" he smiled down at her. "Did you sleep OK?" he asked and heard Xander cough quietly behind him.

"Xander please" he sighed, ready to have this out with him when he saw Buffy standing in the door of her room, leaning on a single crutch. "Buffy, have you seen the doctor?" he asked, quickly moving to her side and leaving Willow.

"If we wait much longer it will practically be healed anyway" she muttered and slowly moved a step or two forward. "The knee brace should do the trick for the next day or two" she mumbled.

"But they said you shouldn't be using a crutch with your shoulder" he started before being pushed aside by Willow and Dawn.

"Let's get you out of here and home to your own bed" Willow suggested and slid her shoulder under Buffy's, putting her arm around her waist.

Buffy hissed and took a few deep breaths. "Dislocated shoulder as well" she smiled apologetically at them. "That's why I'm only using one crutch"

Xander shook his head and handed Willow the bag with Buffy's clothes. "Only one way to do this" he suggested and gently lifted her into his arms. "Let's go" he suggested and the others fell in behind them.

"Wait a minute, you can't leave" one of the nurses was trying to attract their attention and Giles sighed before turning back to face her.

"We can leave, all you need to do is get me to sign a D12 form and the hospital won't be responsible for any relapses as a result of our leaving" he stood at the desk as the nurse rifled through the paperwork on the desk. "You used to keep them in that purple file there" he pointed lazily at the desk and smiled as she put the form in front of him. "Perhaps you could tell Dr. Alexander that I'll give him a call later today to let him know of her progress?" he suggested and headed after the others.

Dawn was fussing over her sister as Xander gently placed her on the back seat of the car. "Dawn, I'm fine" Buffy sighed and slid across the back seat to rest her back against the other door. "I'm not sure how you're all going to fit in" she started and looked pleadingly at Willow.

Her friend smiled at her and gave the bag to Dawn. "Dawnie, put this in the trunk then you get in the front, next to Xander" she leaned down into the car and met Buffy's eyes. "You going to be OK?" she asked quietly and was relieved to see Buffy smiling back at her. 

"I'm going to be fine, Will. Although I'm not saying no to the healing magics when we get back" she shifted around a little more to get comfortable. 

Xander and Dawn were busy choosing music for the return journey and Willow stood beside the car and waited for Giles.

"Hey, Giles?" she waved at him as he exited the building and blinked in the sudden sunlight. When he reached the car he took the situation in at one glance and furrowed his brow. "I know," she said and took his hand. "But I have a plan" she smiled mischievously at him.

"If it involves roof racks you can forget it" he mumbled and bent down to kiss her lightly. "Good morning"

"You already said that" she kissed the tip of his nose and stood away from the car. "I need you to sit in the back seat and get comfortable" she waited until he gently slid in and made sure he didn't jar Buffy's leg. "Good, now I just need to squeeze a little" she mumbled as she scrunched up to get onto his knee without too much trouble. "Now" she turned to smile at him. "I just need you to hold on tight around my waist and we're good to go"

He stared at her in fascination before shaking his head slightly and placing his arms as directed. "I'm too tired to argue" he mumbled and rested his head against her shoulder.

It took Xander fifteen minutes to drive back to the house as he avoided every bump and pothole on the way. Giles was gently snoring on Willow's shoulder and she was holding him to her to prevent him sliding on the seat. Occasionally she would glance over at Buffy and her friend would smile at her and shake her head. "You know I don't think Xander can carry him to bed" Buffy finally whispered and started to giggle. "Although I am getting used to being treated like a queen"

Dawn turned around when she heard her sister laugh and smiled at the picture she found. "Poor Giles, I guess the magic stuff yesterday really took it out of him?" she sighed.

Xander met Willow's eyes in the rear view mirror and could see her biting her lip, desperately trying not to laugh. He turned his head slightly to see Buffy covering her wide grin with a hand under the pretense of a yawn. He knew that Giles wasn't tired because of the magic and guessed what the friends were keeping from Dawn. He shook his head and remembered that he had promised Willow that he would try to sort this out with Giles but it was difficult to picture his best friend in that scary visual place. As he slowly navigated the car into the driveway and stopped it took him a minute to switch the engine off as he tried to imagine Giles as something other than `stuffy old watcher but still better than dad' material. He had genuinely cared for him and respected him up till now and couldn't quite meld the old Giles with this new `seducing younger women of his acquaintance' Giles"

"Xan, we're here" Dawn put her hand lightly on his arm and went to open the front door. 

Buffy stretched a little and groaned as the painkillers from the hospital started to wear off. Xander opened the door behind her and slowly let her lean on him to exit the car. Once she was free he bent down to pick her up again. 

"Xander, I can manage" she protested, but not too much.

"Just for once I get to be the big strong man, let me have my moment" he smiled down at her and hefted her slightly. "Although you may want to leave off the pizzas for a while"

"Hey" she swatted his shoulder. "Once I'm back to normal I'll get you for that" she smiled and leaned her head against his chest. "In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to be a weak girlie"

He shook his head as he took her into the house and gently put her on the sofa. "I'll go and help Willow get Giles sorted out then I'll take you upstairs if you want" he threw over his shoulder as he went back out to the car.

Willow was gently shaking his shoulder and trying to wake him. "Giles, come on honey, we're home" This was having no effect on him so she slowly disentangled herself from his arms and slid out of the car. She felt Xander's hand on her hip as she stumbled. "Hey, no copping a feel while the boyfriends asleep" she smiled at him and they stood and looked down at the sleeping form. "Would it be OK if we just let him sleep for a few hours?" she asked.

"I guess so" Xander shrugged, opened the window a little and locked the other doors in the car before retrieving Buffy's bag from the trunk. "I don't have any meetings till later this afternoon so he can have free room and board till then"

Everyone congregated in the kitchen as Buffy demonstrated her skill with one crutch. She nearly fell over twice but soon got the hang of it. "Perhaps we could get a wooden crutch and you could sharpen the ends?" she suggested to Xander. "Then I could pretend to be all weak and injured and stake the bad guys at the same time" she smiled and then yawned. "Sorry, but it took a bit out of me and I think I should try and get some sleep" Xander stood up to flex his shoulders and held his arms out. "I think I can manage Xan but thanks for coming to pick me up at the hospital" she started to shuffle towards the stairs. "Willow, any chance you have some `making the pain go away' mojo you'd like to share with me about now?" she asked as she took a deep breath and negotiated the first stair.

"No problem" Willow smiled and began gathering some ingredients from the kitchen cupboard. "Just as well I stocked up when I went to the Magic Box the other day"

By the time Buffy was at the top of the stairs Willow had joined her and helped her the last few yards to her bed. "Thanks, didn't want to say it in front of Dawn but I think I really took a beating last night" she murmured and slowly sank onto the bed.

Willow helped her lie out and placed a dish on the bedside table before sitting down gently beside her. "Where does it hurt the most?" she asked quietly and waited for her friend to get her breath back before she pointed to her ribs and shoulder. "Can you take your top off for me?" she waited to see if Buffy wanted any assistance and helped her lean up to remove the sweatshirt. "Lie back and take deep, relaxing breaths" Willow murmured, lighting the ingredients in the dish before rubbing her hands together to heat them up a little. She placed her hands just off the surface of her ribs, above where the largest bruise had appeared and began reciting a healing prayer. As she repeated the same phrases over and over Buffy felt heat being generated by her hands and radiating through the skin to the damaged muscles underneath. The heat spread gradually and she took a deep breath when it rose to an almost unbearable level. After five minutes Willow took a brief rest and plumped some pillows behind Buffy's back. 

"Hey, that feels a little better already" Buffy smiled and let her head roll back to rest on the pillows. She watched as Willow took deep and even breaths, hanging her head with her eyes closed. "Does this take a lot out of you?" she asked quietly and waited a moment or two before Willow seemed to be aware of her question.

"Just a bit" Willow nodded and then smiled. "But I can get my strength back later once you're more comfortable" She pointed to her shoulder and began rubbing her hands together again. "Is it this area?" she asked and began the same process when Buffy nodded.

Forty minutes later Willow came downstairs to find Dawn and Xander sorting through some laundry. She watched as Xander handed all of the underwear to Dawn to sort through before fluffing and folding the outer garments. She giggled a little and then put her hand on the back of the nearest chair to stop herself falling over.

"Willow?" Xander was concerned and beside her within seconds. "Take it easy" he mumbled as he guided her to the sofa and chafed the back of her hand as he sat on the coffee table facing her. "Are you OK?" he asked when she had some colour back in her face.

"I'm fine, just a little wobbly from the healing spells" she leaned back onto the sofa and smiled as Dawn handed her a glass of water. "Thanks, Dawn, but I'm OK, honestly"

"Was she really bad?" Dawn asked and hugged her arms around herself. "Is she going to be OK?"

"Buffy's fine, you know her slayer healing will have her up and about in a couple of days" Willow handed the glass to Xander and sat up a little. "She was in some pain and her system's not really used to dealing with all of that at one time so it took a little out of her but she's sleeping now and will be feeling much better when she wakes up" Willow yawned herself. 

"Seems like you should be in bed as well" Xander suggested and held out his arms.

"I think I can manage" she smiled at him. "You are loving this strong man thing a little too much" 

"Doesn't happen very often" he shrugged. "Go upstairs and get some rest and I'll tell Giles when he wakes up" 

"Perhaps the serious talk should wait for another day" Willow mumbled as she ran her hands through her hair. "I don't think any of us is in the mood for deep stuff right now" she put her hand on his arm as she stood up and headed for the stairs. "I think the shopping trip may be postponed but we'll see you tomorrow night for the video-fest?"

"Don't forget the popcorn?" Xander said sternly and turned to Dawn. "Looks like it's just you and me Dawnster, how about going out for some lunch?"

Dawn watched as Willow slowly climbed the stairs. "Are you sure we should leave them alone?" she asked anxiously.

"Buffy will be out for the rest of the day and Willow looked pretty tired as well" Xander answered as he put his jacket on and held Dawn's for her. "We'll leave a note for Giles and he can check on them when he wakes up"

Giles tried to turn over and realised he was sleeping sitting up. He groaned as he tried to move his head and found his neck stiff from leaning against a window. Sleepily wiping some drool from his lips he scrunched his eyes up as the sun streamed into the car. "What on earth?" he mumbled and tried to remember how he had ended up sleeping in a car. Slowly the early morning crept back into his memory and he groaned and opened the car door, stretching his back and legs. He looked around and wondered where everyone else had gone before shaking his head and pushing open the front door. He found a note from Xander taped to the door just before he closed it and searched several pockets for his glasses before finding and putting them on to read the young man's scrawl. Taking a deep breath he went upstairs and washed his face with some cold water in an attempt to clear his head but the jet lag, combined with the magical energy he had used the previous day had exhausted him. He suddenly stopped and stared at himself in the mirror, remembering the exertions of the previous night as well. A broad grin looked back at him and he shook his head and finished tidying himself up before heading for Buffy's room.

She was lying on her back, her right knee sitting up slightly with some cushions to support it. He leaned over and checked her pulse, happy when he found a slow, regular beat consistent with her sleeping. Satisfied that she was comfortable he pulled a blanket from the foot of her bed and draped it over her. He stood up with a bit of a wince and held his lower back, taking several minutes to watch her relaxed face as she slept.

"Hey" Willow murmured from the doorway. "Is she still sleeping?"

"Yes," he said quietly and followed Willow as she returned to his room. "Her ribs look a little less bruised, is her healing process speeding up or did you help out?" he asked as he pulled off his sweater and sat down in the chair to remove his shoes.

"I helped a little on her ribs and shoulder, just to help her relax and get to sleep" Willow admitted and sat with her back against the headboard. "I remember you telling me once that her healing works best if she is asleep so I did some of the stuff I learned at the coven and it seemed to have the desired effect"

He stood up and removed his trousers and socks. "About desired effects" he started then yawned. "I seem to remember missing out on some morning after cuddles" he slid under the covers and snuggled up next to her.

"I didn't much enjoy waking up and not finding you beside me" she pouted. "But I forgive you this time, just don't let it happen again" 

"I'm sorry, but cuddles are about all I can manage" he kissed her lightly, not letting it deepen. "I'm absolutely knackered and you must be exhausted from performing the healing rituals so soon after the spirit intervention yesterday?"

"Benefits of dating a younger woman" she ran her finger down his arm and entwined her fingers in his when she reached his hand. "Fabulous recovery time" the effect of this was spoiled a little by the huge yawn that overtook her and she fell back, laughing by his side. "Perhaps a little power nap would be just the thing"

"At least I get to wake up next to you this time" he mumbled into her hair as he pulled her close to him and almost instantly fell asleep.

Willow woke up in the early evening and watched him sleeping next to her. She smiled and traced her fingers down his chest and across his stomach. Shaking her head she gave herself a severe talking to for trying to wake him up just because she was horny. "Sorry" she whispered and leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. He mumbled something in his sleep then turned over. Shaking her head she debated staying in bed and trying to get back to sleep but she realised she was starving and could smell something delicious being prepared in the kitchen. Sighing, she slid out from under the covers and quickly pulled on her jeans and a t-shirt.

Dawn was reading a textbook at the dining room table and looked up when Willow came downstairs. "Hey, you feeling better?" she asked and put a marker in the book before closing it.

"Much better, thanks" Willow smiled at her. "What time is it anyway?" she asked and went into the kitchen. "Six-thirty!" she shook her head. "No wonder I'm starving" she pulled open the oven to see what was producing the fabulous aroma.

"I guessed everyone would be pretty hungry, after all, you missed breakfast and lunch" Dawn leaned against the doorway. "I put the lasagne in and was going to try waking you once it was ready"

Willow smiled up at her. "You are a lifesaver" she went to the fridge to get some juice. "What have you been up to today since we all crashed out on you?"

"Xander and I went to the Espresso Pump then he had to go to some meetings so I've been studying for a history test next week" she shrugged. 

Willow followed her into the living room. "How did your date with Martin go last night?" she asked and smiled as the young girl blushed and pulled her knees against her chest on the sofa. "That good?"

"Stop teasing me" Dawn mock scowled then giggled. "He is really smart and really sweet"

"And you really like him?" Willow asked

"Yeah, I think I do" Dawn agreed and looked serious for a moment. "Since the only other guy I've been out with was a vampire it's kind of difficult to judge but I think he likes me too"

"Oh, he likes you" Willow nodded and tried to hide her grin. "Take it from me, he is showing the classic signs of liking you"

Dawn stretched out on the sofa. "How do you mean?"

"If he goes to school in Sunnydale he must have heard the weird stories about Buffy and the rest of us while we were at school" Willow began. "Also he's met Buffy and she was pretty fierce until she was sure of him" she watched as Dawn listened intently. "So I guess he must be serious because he's still around" Dawn smiled and decided to accept the logic as evidence of his interest. They were silent for a moment or two before Willow stood up and headed for the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder as Dawn followed her. "Besides, I caught you necking on the sofa, guys don't usually risk getting caught doing that unless they are pretty serious"

"We were not necking" she protested and looked shamefaced as Willow regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "OK, maybe just a little but please don't tell Buffy, she'll try to stake him?" she pleaded.

"Let's sort out some salad to go with this and then we can get Giles and Buffy down here for dinner" Willow suggested.

***** 

Dawn lifted the empty plates from the table. "Anyone for ice cream?" she asked and smiled as Buffy pinched Giles.

"Ow, what was that for?" he asked indignantly as he rubbed his arm. 

"I was just making sure I wasn't dreaming, what with Dawn making dinner and offering dessert" Buffy grinned at him.

"You're supposed to pinch yourself, not me" he grumbled and followed Dawn into the kitchen. "Do you want a hand with dishes?" he asked and pulled his sleeves up.

"I'll get them later," Dawn said as she pulled the ice cream from the freezer. "Call it payback for ruining your date last night?" she suggested as she saw his incredulous look.

He shook his head and pulled her against him for a hug. "You didn't spoil anything" he smiled and took the ice cream from her to serve it up.

"I saw your face when Buffy told you to babysit" she looked at him and suddenly he realised that she wasn't a child anymore. 

"Well, yes" he muttered and could feel himself blushing. "I'm assuming you behaved yourself and that Martin got home OK?" he tried to gain the upper hand again by discussing her love life instead of his own.

"His Dad picked him up at eleven thirty" she smiled sweetly, not in the least phased by the change in subject. 

She carried two bowls of ice cream into the dining room and it was only as she left the room that he realised she hadn't answered the first part of his question. Shaking his head he put the kettle on before lifting the other two bowls.

"I guess the trip to the Mall is off till your leg is better?" Dawn was asking as he sat a bowl in front of Willow.

"Sorry Dawn, perhaps next weekend?" Buffy asked apologetically.

"Why wait?" Giles asked and put extra chocolate sauce on his ice cream. 

"Not really able to walk" Buffy pointed out as if he had forgotten.

"We can hire a wheelchair and use it for carrying the shopping as well" he smiled sweetly at her. "Also, you'll need to replace the clothes that were damaged last night" he suggested reasonably.

Buffy was looking at him in astonishment. Finally, she turned to Willow with a grin. "Whatever you did to him you need to do more often" she grinned. 

"Buffy!" Willow shouted at her then started laughing as the two girls collapsed into giggles. "Who knew it would awaken his latent shopping gene?" she finally gasped out and caused convulsions in Buffy and Dawn while Giles looked a little mystified.

"I'll make the tea, shall I?" he asked and headed for the kitchen.


	21. Chapter 21

"I cannot believe I fell for it!" Buffy complained as Willow helped her up the stairs to Xander's. "I thought he was just trying not to spoil the day out for you and Dawn"

Willow sighed, listening to the mini-rant for the third time. "Perhaps that was part of the reason?" she suggested.

"He just knew that I wouldn't be able to try on shoes!" Buffy insisted and turned to look over her shoulder. "Don't think I don't know" she shouted at Giles as he and Dawn brought up the rear.

Giles just sighed as Dawn giggled. He turned to her and grinned. "I'm surprised it took her two hours of shopping to figure it out" he whispered.

Xander met them at the door and took over Buffy helping duties. "Hey how did the shopping trip go?" he asked brightly and was surprised when Willow groaned and covered her eyes. "What?" he asked.

Giles placed the grocery bags on the kitchen worktop and handed his jacket to Willow. He shook his head and began emptying out the bags. "Where do you want the beers?" he asked and was rewarded by Xander moving to help him in the kitchen, removing the new audience from Buffy.

Willow and Dawn were hunkered down in front of the TV, sorting through the videos they had brought. "When is Anya due?" Willow asked just as there was a knock at the door.

When they were all comfortably seated, with popcorn strategically placed, Xander took charge of the remote controls. He stood in front of the TV and cleared his throat. "I'd like to welcome you all to the inaugural meeting of the Scoobies adult video extravaganza" he intoned and looked at their astonished faces staring back at him. "I mean we are adults now, not the videos" he hastily corrected himself and blushed. Giles started sniggering and the others shook their heads in disbelief. Xander decided to plow on with his planned speech. "The event will take place on this date annually and it will be a celebration of our first meeting at high school and our adventures ever since" he smiled around the others as they continued to look bewildered. "It was six years ago today that we first met up in the library for Giles to tell us about things that go bump in the night" he explained.

"I can't believe it" Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "Really?" 

Giles stood up to face Xander. "A toast" he raised his drink and kept eye contact with the young man. "To the Scoobies" he solemnly said and held his bottle for Xander to clink his against it. They both took deep drinks and turned to face the others. 

"The Scoobies" Willow and Dawn both said at the same time and then they were all clinking glasses and laughing. 

Giles hugged Xander, much to the young man's surprise, then moved to stand in front of Anya. "I'm glad you could make it" he mumbled into her ear as he hugged her. 

"Me too" she sniffled a little. 

He hugged Willow and Dawn before standing in front of Buffy, holding out his hand. She took it and pulled herself up in front of him. "Congratulations Buffy," he said and hugged her. 

"What for?" she pulled back to look into his eyes.

"We're all still here to celebrate and I doubt we would be without you," he said seriously and hugged her again. The others, taking part in a group hug, stopped to watch the slayer and her watcher in each other's arms.

Willow eventually cleared her throat. "Do you want us to leave?" she asked but smiled to take the sting out of it.

Giles helped Buffy to sit back down before moving to pull Willow into his arms. "I had to make up for the shoe thing" he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. 

"Time for a movie" Dawn suggested to forestall any more moaning from Buffy and leaned against Xander as he sat down and pulled the popcorn towards them.

***** 

Dawn helped Buffy into her jacket before hugging Xander at the door. "Thanks, Xan, I had a great time and it was really sweet what you said earlier" she turned to open the door.

"Yeah Xander, thanks for reminding us what we've achieved" Buffy smiled and hugged him tightly.

Willow hugged him quickly. "I'll see you for lunch tomorrow?" she smiled and headed after Dawn to help her with Buffy.

Anya yawned a little and shook his hand. "Thank you for including me, it meant a lot," she said.

"Anya" he smiled and hugged her. "No matter what happened, you are still a member of this group"

As she left, Xander turned to find Giles finishing his beer and leaning against the kitchen counter. "Giles" he held the door. "I think the girls are waiting for you?"

"They'll wait," he said and put the bottle down, crossing his arms. "I know you and I need to talk about what's happened between Willow and I but there is something more important" he paused.

"More important than you sleeping with my best friend?" Xander asked, aware that he had drunk just enough beer to make him a little brave.

Giles ignored the comment and continued to stare at him. "I'm proud of you Xander" he stated matter of factly. "You have always been the unsung hero in this unlikely band and tonight you proved yourself truly to be the heart of the group" he moved forward and stood in front of him. "I know I've never told you before and I should have, but I would have been proud to have you as my son"

Xander stood in shock, watching as Giles reached out his hand and waited for some reaction. He ignored the hand and pulled him into a hug. He swallowed to try and get rid of the lump in his throat. Pulling back he wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeve before smiling at him. "Better not keep them waiting?" he suggested.

Giles nodded and headed after the others, waiting till he was around the corner before taking his glasses off and wiping his own eyes.

***** 

He was lying in bed reading when Willow closed the bedroom door behind her. "How is her knee doing?" he asked and put his glasses on to watch her undress.

"Still swollen and tender after today's exertions" Willow quickly piled her clothes onto a chair before turning to him. "But I think the healing spell is certainly speeding up her own speedy healing" she grinned and pulled the book from his hand. "She wouldn't let me do the full half hour treatment, said I had to keep some strength for myself"

He grinned and put his glasses on the bedside table. "Well done Buffy" he muttered as Willow slid under the covers.

"Mmmmm" Willow groaned as his hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her tight against his body. Her lips found the side of his neck and she nuzzled and licked as his hands found interesting places in their travels. "Oh yes," she hissed. "Right there" she nipped his neck as he ran his fingers around her clitoris before dipping inside her. She was taken by surprise and orgasmed quickly, shuddering in his arms. "Sorry" she smiled at him after a few moments. "I guess I was a little more ready than I realised?"

"It's not a problem" he grinned back at her. "Rather the reverse in fact" he suggested as he pushed his erection against her thigh.

"Oh," she rolled onto her back and pulled him on top of her. "Jet lag wearing off?" she pushed her hips up against his.

"Willow" he took a deep breath as he reached for a condom. "Holding you in my arms while you come will give me a hard-on anywhere in the world at any time" he assured her and hissed as he rolled the condom on.

"Glad to hear it" she smiled and opened her thighs to give him some more room. "I love you," she said huskily as he slipped inside her.

"Glad to hear it" he smiled and began moving slowly, almost pulling out of her completely before pushing in as deep as he could. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," he told her as she gazed into his eyes.

She smiled before closing her eyes as she felt him bury himself deeper than before. "Oh boy, keep doing that" 

He grinned and took a deep breath to calm himself. He wanted this time to last a little longer than last night but she was so tight and warm around his cock that he struggled to maintain his slow pace. He felt her wriggle underneath him and suddenly found he could go even deeper "Jesus" he groaned and began thinking of the Aramaic translation in the book he had been reading earlier. 

Willow had closed her eyes to try and slow down her reactions to his movements. However, this plan completely backfired when she suddenly tuned into some of the fantasies she used to have of them in the library together. It had been several years since she had run these particular movies through her brain and was surprised at how erotic they were. Her breathing quickened to panting as she remembered the one about pushing him against the weapons cage and sliding down his body, kissing his bared chest as she went. Her back arched as she felt her second orgasm ripping through her and she was vaguely aware of him gasping as he picked up the pace.

She kept her eyes closed, her nervous system in overload as he pounded into her. "Willow, honey, open your eyes?" he begged and stared at her as she blinked up at him. He seemed about to say something else when he suddenly got a very serious look on his face and slammed into her one more time. He grunted once, trying to keep as quiet as possible. He looked down to find her grinning up at him. He continued pushing into her, his orgasm prolonged by the contractions he felt her generating around him. 

When he rolled off of her and removed the condom he was panting. "You are incredible" he managed to get out before putting his hand over his eyes.

"You're pretty impressive yourself" she grinned at him as she leaned on her side and ran her hand over his abdomen.

"Enough" he gasped and turned on his side to face her. "Please, I'm an old man, have mercy?" he put his hand out to brush against her nipple and watched as she hissed, closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. "Again?" he asked and smiled, leaning down to take her nipple into his mouth.

"Bloody hell" she managed through clenched teeth as he ran his finger in ever decreasing circles around her clitoris. Her hands had clamped to the back of his head just in case he tried to stop the miraculous thing he was doing to her breasts. "Nearly" she gasped just before arching off the bed, the back of her head and her heels the only things still connected to the real world. When she finally opened her eyes she saw him grinning down at her. "What?" she asked breathlessly and tried to turn onto her side but gave up as every muscle in her body appeared to have turned to jelly.

He shook his head. "Do you have any idea how gorgeous you look right now?" he asked.

"Right" she nodded and turned her head to grin up at him. "My face is probably all red and sweaty and my hair must be a mess and.." 

He didn't let her finish, putting her lips to much better use. "Don't argue with me" he finally suggested and pulled her closer to him. "If I say you are the most beautiful woman on the entire planet right now then just agree with me"

"Yes sir" she managed around a yawn before snuggling into him. He thought she was asleep and was lying watching her. When she opened her eyes she saw him look a little surprised. "You better be here when I wake up in the morning" she mumbled and yawned again.

He placed kisses between her eyebrows and down her nose. "I love you Will" he whispered and heard her sigh.

***** 

Buffy swept round, delivering the roundhouse kick where his head had been seconds before. She bounced on the balls of her feet and grinned at him. "Glad to see you've finally got the hang of ducking" she caught the towel he threw at her.

"I see you're knee and ribs are completely healed," he said between heavy breaths. "How do you feel?" he asked as he sat on the bottom stair.

"A bit stiff but that'll disappear after I've loosened off properly" she rolled her shoulders and swung her arms around. "Willow's healing mojo certainly helped things along" she smiled at him. "It also seems to have cleared up the black eyes" she pointed at his face.

"Yes," he leaned back and stretched his legs out. "I even managed to sneeze yesterday without thinking my nose was going to explode" he smiled.

"How are you guys doing?" Buffy asked as she moved to the punch bag.

He stood up and put his weight behind it as she swung a few preparatory punches at it. "What do you mean?" he asked, hoping she would be too busy concentrating on her training to continue the conversation.

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "I mean how are you and my best friend getting on now that you're doing something other than researching?" she put her hands on her hips and waited for his answer.

He sighed and hugged onto the punch bag. "It seems that we also make a good non-researching team and I think I may have a solution to the transatlantic commuting problem," he said and saw her smile.

"Hey, good news, what's the what?" she swung a punch and he grunted as the bag bounced against him.

He waited until she had completed her first combination before explaining. "All of the calls I've made over the last few weeks have been about finding some way to allow Willow to work with the Council" he explained and was caught a little off balance as she stepped away from the bag.

"She's going to become a watcher?" she asked in surprise. "When did she decide this?"

He sighed. "Not a watcher, more a very over-qualified research assistant" he explained patiently. "And she doesn't know, I haven't had a chance to discuss it with her yet as I only received the confirmation call an hour ago"

Buffy pounded on the bag for five minutes, her face scrunched up by her thoughts rather than the physical effort. "How does this solve the problem?" she finally asked, hardly out of breath.

Giles took a step back and flexed his shoulders. "If she works for the Council then they will pay for her to be wherever they need the research resource" he explained and shook his hands out to try to get the feeling back in them. "And as she will be my assistant then she will be with me wherever I am, England or Sunnydale"

"And you'll need to check on the Hellmouth on a regular basis?" Buffy asked, her anxiety about losing Willow again seeping out.

"I would imagine so" he smiled at her and took a deep drink from his water bottle before throwing one at Buffy.

***** 

Willow and Xander were in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch when Buffy and Giles came up from the basement. "Hey, how'd training go?" Willow asked and reached up to kiss him.

"Very well" he mumbled and kissed her. 

"Actually it was a little slow but I'll do some more later on" Buffy had crossed her arms and was watching her best friend and her watcher with extreme concentration. "You know" she turned to Xander. "I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing them do that" she sighed.

"Seeing who doing what?" Xander looked around the kitchen and shrugged his shoulders. 

"I like your style Mr. Harris" Buffy grinned at him. "Denial is definitely the way to go" The two friends laughed and took the prepared food into the living room. 

"Where'd everybody go?" Willow asked as she realised they were alone. 

"Was there anyone else here?" he smiled sloppily and put his hand on her butt. "I certainly wouldn't be able to do this with an audience" he grinned.

"I see your point" she replicated his hand position and snuggled against him. 

They were kissing again when Dawn coughed politely from the kitchen doorway. "You guys, can you take it somewhere else, Martin and I are starving"

Giles blushed bright red and Willow wasn't far behind him. "Oops," she mumbled and cleared her throat. 

Dawn just shook her head and walked past them to the fridge. "Martin" she shouted over her shoulder. "It's safe to come in now, they've stopped"

Martin stood in the doorway smiling bravely at them. "Hi Mr. Giles, Willow" he waved and went to help Dawn with the lunch preparations.

"Martin" Giles coughed and used the towel he still held as a screen for the front of his trousers. "I have some phone calls to make so I'll just go upstairs and use the telephone to call those people I have to call" 

"Very smooth" Willow giggled and shoved him towards the doorway. He disappeared at speed and she turned to the youngsters. "Hey Martin, how did your science project go?"

The next half hour was taken up with discussions of the latest news from the science club and when Giles eventually came back downstairs after his shower he was a little annoyed to find Willow deep in conversation.

"Ah Willow, I wonder if I might have a word with you?" he asked and didn't realise he had regressed until Buffy looked up and smiled. 

"Oh-oh Will sounds like you've forgotten to return a book" she giggled and watched as Willow stood up and excused herself. "Perhaps he'll let you work off the fine?" Buffy and Xander looked at each other and covered their eyes at the same time. "Ooooooh scary visual place" they both agreed.

"Ignore them" Willow advised and led Giles into the back garden. "Unless this is about a book you've lent me in which case.." she was getting started on one of her famous rambles.

"Willow" he put his hand on her shoulder. "I have some good news" he started and sat down on the garden bench. "Well, I hope you'll think it's good news because I think it is definitely not bad so I suppose that would make it.." he seemed to forget what his point was.

"Of the good?" she asked and sat down at the end of the bench, turning to face him.

"Exactly" he smiled and squinted his eyes in the sunlight. "Anyway" he realised he had phased out a little while admiring the way the sun shone through her hair. " I have spoken to several colleagues at the Council over the last few days and have come up with a solution to the problem of how we can be together" he stood up to pace and she shook her head and smiled at him. "Obviously the Council knows of your talents in the field of research and they have agreed that you are more than qualified to take up one of the positions for a research assistant that is currently open" he was still pacing so she didn't interrupt him. "Furthermore" he took his glasses off and waved them at her. "I have persuaded them that the importance of the work I do requires that a research assistant be permanently assigned to me and they have agreed to my `suggestion' that that person be you"

She had noted his hesitation over the word and wondered exactly what leverage he had used to make his suggestion successful. "Why would I want to work for the Council?" she asked and looked genuinely confused. "These are the people who have stood against all of us on several occasions and had a hand in actively trying to kill the two slayers that I know personally" she continued. "This is the organisation that you tell me is worse than useless in most of the situations we have encountered in the last six years" she was building up a head of steam and ignored his attempts to interrupt her. "This is the organisation that would have killed me if they had gotten to me before you did several months ago and who would undoubtedly count murder as a small price to pay for controlling the kind of power I still have"

Giles was staring at her, completely shocked by her outburst. "But Willow, don't you see?" he started and watched as she stood up, almost shaking with anger.

"These are the people who threatened to deport you when you wouldn't play the game to their sick and twisted rules Giles" she was shouting at him now. "What makes you think I trust them to keep any promises they make to you where we are concerned?" she headed for the kitchen door and turned for one final question. "What makes you think they don't see the control they'd have over our relationship as something they can use down the line to blackmail you, me or Buffy?"

He watched as she stormed back into the house and heard the front door slam as she continued straight out again. He was still standing, completely bemused when Buffy came out to find him a few minutes later. "What happened?" she asked, taking in his confusion. "What's up with Willow?"

"Apparently I have just asked her to sell her soul to the devil or somesuch" he shrugged his shoulders and sat down wearily on the bench.

Buffy sat down next to him. "I'm guessing she didn't like the idea of being Travers' lap dog?" she guessed.

"Is that what you think I am?" he asked while continuing to stare at the ground. "Do you think I would place her in that situation if I could think of any other way to guarantee that we are together?"

Buffy sighed and leaned back, tilting her face to the sun. "It's not me you have to persuade but I'm going to throw my opinion into the ring anyway" she took a deep breath. "Giles, I think you are the most intelligent person I have ever known"

He continued playing with his glasses and watching the ground. "I can't see but I'm guessing you have something else to add?" he suggested wryly.

"Yep, major but coming up" she nodded and sighed. "You and I both know the destructive power of the Council and I know they have amazing resources and a fabulous library but do you really want to be working for them any more than Willow does?" She watched him try to assimilate what she was saying. "I mean when Tara died" she paused for a moment and looked up to the bedroom window before taking a deep breath. "When it happened and Willow went AWOL it wasn't the Council that got you here and helped defeat the evil. The coven works outside the Council and manages to be on the side of the white hats, why can't you?"

"It's not that simple Buffy" he continued. "The Council may not have its finger on the pulse where the Hellmouth is concerned but many good people dedicate their lives to its aims and I feel obliged to remain within the organisation in order to help them survive"

"Doggy poo" she blew a raspberry as well in case he didn't catch her meaning. "You could hire yourself out as a consultant and make them pay for the experience you've earned over the years, experience they were perfectly happy to ignore whenever they wanted to get their own stuffy, British way"

"It's not a black and white issue" he began and felt her anger rising as she stood in front of him and waited for him to look up at her. 

"That is exactly what it is" she crossed her arms. "You could get a job teaching or lecturing in any University in England or America and do the watchery stuff on the side" the idea seemed to surprise her as much as it did him. "Yeah" she suddenly realised that it might work. "I mean you said you were actually a professor and you probably know something about regular subjects as well as vampires and demons?"

He chuckled as her excitement infected him. "Just a little" he acknowledged and then shook his head. "But if I teach in England it will mean Willow will have to live there to be with me and I'm trying to find a way to spend a little more time here"

She shook her head and growled at him in frustration. "You are so stupid sometimes" she wagged her finger at him.

"But you just said I was the most intelligent�." he started but she cut him off.

"Never mind what I said" she started pacing in front of him. "What's more important to you?" she finally asked. "I know you really don't want to live here and Willow has said she is willing to move to England to be with you but you know she'd be miserable, so what's more important?" she finally gave him a chance to answer.

"You want me to come back here?" he asked. 

"Not for me or Dawn or Xander" she stopped pacing to stand in front of him. "Not even for Willow, but for yourself," she said quietly. "I know you have friends and family in England but I think we must count as pretty nearly that as well and if you were prepared to commute to see us what's so wrong about considering commuting to see them?"

He stared back at her for a moment before shaking his head. "You make it sound so simple" he huffed. "You're asking me to give up my home, my friends and my job to relocate here again" he was staring at his hands and didn't see her standing behind Buffy.

"That's not what she's asking," Willow said quietly and touched Buffy's shoulder. Her friend took the hint and nodded at her before heading back indoors. "You've been happier over the last few weeks than I've ever seen you" she suggested. "I know I'm biased and some of that has to do with the fabulous sex life you've suddenly achieved but I think you were happy even before you and I hooked up" She sat down on the bench and he sat next to her. "Buffy was wrong" she took a deep breath and decided to get it all out in the open. "I wouldn't be miserable if I moved to England because I'd be with you" she smiled at him as he turned to watch her. "But I don't think I could work for the Council and we'd be in the same position we are now with you having to work away from home and us not being together"

"Willow, please, I don't want that either and I'm not trying to defend the Council's history but there are many people like me who work for them and truly believe that we are doing some good because of it" he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I understand that you don't want to work with them but I'm not sure if I can get another job that would allow me to make the same difference as I do now" 

"You had a job that allowed you to make all of the difference in the world" she mumbled and sniffled a little. "You were a librarian at an American high school by day and a battler for evil at night" she sighed. "You trained the most successful slayer in history and made sure her friends survived to help her celebrate her success"

"But I was working for the Council" he interrupted.

"Up until they fired you" she let out a deep breath, determined not to lose her temper again. "You stayed with us and helped us save the world more times than Travers and his kind have had hot dinners" She turned to face him and put her hand up to brush against his cheek. "You don't need them, Giles, you are better than that and can make more of a difference by following your own path and not being tied up in their red tape. They'll beg you to stay and they'll come knocking on your door when you set up freelance, believe me, they will have no choice"

"You don't know them as I do" he turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand. "They are just as likely to take umbrage at me having my own life and try to end it"

"Then they'll just have to deal with a pissed off witch, won't they?" she smiled at him. "You're not alone in this Giles, we are a formidable team of people and Buffy will remind them of their subservient role in our lives if they ever dare show their face in this place again" He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "With the money you'll be making as a top consultant we can visit your friends as often as you want"

"Do you really think it will work?" he asked and leaned back against the bench. "I mean it seems so simple when you and Buffy describe it but all I can think about are the obstacles"

"That's what you thought about us and look how well that turned out?" she smiled at him and leaned back beside him, her hand resting on top of his.


	22. Chapter 22

"Are you sure the red plug goes in there?" he asked for the third time.

"Do you want to do this yourself?" Xander leant back and put down the instruction booklet.

"Leave him alone, come and help with these boxes" Willow shook her head and checked a notebook. "Dawn, that one goes in the study" she shouted as the young girl sighed and turned to her left.

"Where to Miss?" a young moving man stopped in the hallway with a dolly loaded with boxes.

Willow stood on tiptoe to read the number of the top box then checked her list. "Sorry, they need to be in the front bedroom" she winced as he sighed and began lifting the individual boxes upstairs.

"Good grief" Giles put down one of the boxes and stretched his back. "Why can't I help Xander install the satellite TV thingy?" he pouted.

"Because he was just about to stab you with his screwdriver" she patted his shoulder and reached up to kiss him. "Why don't you unpack the kitchen while we finish up in here?" He walked off shaking his head and mumbling under his breath.

"What's up with Giles?" Buffy asked as she carried some empty boxes downstairs. 

"He's getting in everyone's way and I've relegated him to kitchen duties" Willow shrugged. "After these, we only have three more boxes for the study and then we're done with the unloading" she grinned as Buffy easily lifted the box that Giles had given up on. "Technically you were the one who persuaded him to stay in America" Willow reminded her.

"Next time you guys can emigrate and get some English people to move your books" she grinned over her shoulder as she headed upstairs. "Tell Giles that we could do with some coffee for the workers" 

***** 

"I can't believe you don't have some of the same books" Xander argued several hours later as they fought over the Chinese takeaway.

"All of his are in weird languages and he doesn't have any on robotics or science" Willow shrugged and finished handing out drinks. "Although we discovered that we both had Wind in the Willows" she grinned.

"I told you" Xander sat back and looked at Buffy. "There is one less book you would have had to carry today" he emphasised his point with his chopsticks before returning to his food.

"Giles!" Dawn shouted from the hallway. "Hurry up or there won't be any left"

"I was just checking to see if I had any emails" he smiled as he came downstairs. "Mmmm" he dived straight into the large pile of takeaway containers. "I'm starving" he mumbled as he finally sat down beside Willow and kissed her cheek. "Did you find my record collection?" he asked hopefully.

"I got Buffy to dump them in your study" Willow nodded and sat back with a sigh. "Let's not do this again any time soon" she yawned.

"Shouldn't need to" Giles agreed "We have plenty of capacity for any future expansions" 

Buffy caught Dawn's startled look and stared at Willow. "Future expansions?" she asked carefully and saw Xander put his chopsticks down and lean forward a little.

"He means more books" Willow rolled her eyes. "Right?" she turned to see his grin and started to get worried.

"Absolutely" he nodded and laughed at the shock on their faces. 

Once the food was finished everyone found a comfortable seat and they gave the new satellite TV system a test. "It's just like football" Xander shrugged his shoulders.

"It might be just like your version of football" Giles agreed. "However, rugby players don't need ten layers of padding, helmets or a rest break every thirty seconds" he explained patiently.

"So the kicker stays on the field?" Xander asked over his shoulder as another play unfolded in front of him. "That's weird" he shook his head but continued to follow the game.

"I can't believe you agreed to the sports channels" Buffy followed Willow and Dawn upstairs. 

"It was one of the things on his list to make him stay in America" Willow shrugged. "Apparently he used to play it years ago and has a mission to explain it to Xander so that they can watch games together every week"

"This is a really pretty room" Dawn sighed as they started to hang up clothes in the master bedroom. "You can see most of the park from here" she sat on the window seat and stared out at the view.

"Don't tell me, the trees were on his list?" Buffy guessed and smiled as Willow nodded and sighed. "What was on your list?" she asked and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Not much, I just asked for a study of my own and enough room that you guys could stay over" Willow shrugged and closed the wardrobe door. "Oh, and something for the garden" she grinned and headed downstairs again. "Cool, huh?" she nodded as they all stood and looked at a huge hammock slung between two very old oak trees. "I've always wanted one and he said we should get one each but I managed to find a place that supplied one big enough for two" she gingerly sat on the edge before swinging her legs into it. 

Dawn looked around at the garden. "Your neighbours can't see into this part of the garden" she pointed to the sheltering trees. 

"They can't?" Willow asked and tried for surprised innocence before Buffy tutted. 

"Remind me to give them plenty of notice before we come over?" she suggested to her sister and pushed the hammock, causing it to sway lightly. "You should get a couple more of these and we could spend all summer out here" 

"I'll add it to my list" Willow grinned and they spent another half hour in the garden before the sunset and a cold breeze started up. 

"Offside!" Xander shouted at the TV and looked up to see the girls coming back to join them. "This is a great game" he pointed to the screen enthusiastically. "It's over already?" he looked incredulously at Giles as the players trooped off the park. 

"Another advantage" Giles grinned. "The game lasts forty minutes each half"

Xander thought for a moment or two before winking at Willow. "No cheerleaders"

"Well you may have a point there" Giles nodded in agreement before wincing as Willow nudged his ribs.

"I need to patrol and Dawn's got school in the morning so we should get going" Buffy looked to Xander.

"Sure, I'll just visit the little boys' room" Xander nodded.

"Are you free next Saturday night?" Giles asked as he helped Buffy into her jacket. "I think a house warming party is definitely called for to thank you for all your help today" he smiled at Dawn as well. "You can bring Martin if you want"

"That would be nice, thanks" Dawn blushed slightly.

"I'll call you tomorrow" Willow sniffled a little as she hugged Buffy. "Thanks for everything" she kept eye contact until Buffy nodded slightly. "And you Dawnie, are you sure you're not a slayer, the way you were throwing those boxes around today?" she grinned and pulled the young girl into a rib-crunching hug.

"Thank you" Giles held onto Buffy for several breaths. "Today wouldn't have happened without your help"

"Hey" Xander pouted. "I leave the room for two minutes and suddenly there's an orgy" he pointed to the hugging couples and smiled as Willow opened her arms for him. "That's better" he sighed and pulled Dawn beside him. 

"Thanks, Xan" Willow giggled and pulled away from him. "Can you make it to our house-warming party next Saturday night?" she asked.

"I'll be here to see the game on Saturday afternoon so I don't see why not" he shrugged and turned apologetically to Giles as Willow looked surprised. "Sorry big guy"

"It's alright" Giles assured him and patted his back. "I was going to break the news a little more gently than that but.." he shrugged and held out his hand to Willow. "I promise the house will be tidied and ready for the party before we watch the game" he pouted a little before winking at Xander over Willow's shoulder as she sighed and hugged him. 

"Let's go and leave them to the rest of the unpacking" Buffy shook her head.

***** 

"Where do we start?" Willow looked at the huge pile of boxes in the middle of her study.

"As you know" Giles bent down to pick her up. "Tactical planning has always been a bit of a talent of mine" he strode down the hallway towards the spare bedroom. 

"I thought you had hurt your back?" she giggled as he kicked the door open. "Rupert, it's beautiful" she gasped as she saw the bed made up and a huge vase of roses standing on the dressing table. "When did you get time to do all this?" she looked around at the rose petals scattered across the bed covers.

"I enlisted some help" he admitted and sheepishly stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Just one problem, I couldn't find any matches" he admitted.

"You could have done it yourself" she protested as all of the carefully laid out candles burst into life with one word. 

"I wanted to save my strength for something else" he grinned and pulled her into his arms. "Welcome to your new home, Ms. Rosenberg" he sighed before kissing her for several minutes.

"We would have moved several months ago if I'd known it would be like this" she assured him and let her head roll back as he kissed the skin revealed by unbuttoning her blouse.

"You should have put it on your list" he looked up as her hands disappeared under his sweater. "Mmmm Will" he sighed and pulled her towards the bed. 

"Rupert, please" she whispered as he dropped her bra on the floor and slowly moved to undo her jeans. 

"There's no rush" he spent a few moments nibbling around her belly button before standing up to drop his clothes on the floor. "We have the rest of our lives together" he watched her lick her lips before kissing her.

"I want you now" Willow finally pulled away to catch her breath. "And later, I want you in every room of our house" she gasped and closed her eyes for a second or two as he let his fingers gently stroke her thigh. "Please" she begged as he nudged her legs apart and began stroking her clitoris. 

"I wanted this to last all night, for you to have this whenever you thought of our first night here together" he pushed away from her and searched for his jeans. "But I don't think I can wait any longer" he admitted as he searched through the pockets.

"Don't" she raised herself onto her elbows before reaching out to pull him back onto the bed. "We don't need anything" she saw him hesitate and grinned. "I'm not proposing a future expansion" she giggled as his eyebrows rose in shock. "I've taken care of that side of things and we don't need the condoms anymore" she watched him swallow and take several deep breaths. "Unless there is something you haven't told me?" she slowly squirmed higher up the bed till she could rest on the pillows.

"Are you sure?" he whispered and saw her face fall a little. "Not that I wouldn't want to have children with you but we haven't discussed it and�" he closed his eyes and listened to the tiny voice in his head telling him to shut up. "I'm sorry, can I start again?" he asked and slowly started to stroke her thigh. 

"Someday you can explain to me how you ever managed to get a second date with anyone?" she shook her head before clearing her mind of everything else and concentrating on his body. 

He blew across her breasts and watched as her nipples crinkled with the cold air. Licking his lips he bent down to heat them with his tongue before continuing down her body. "You are so beautiful" he sighed and blew against her pubic hair. "So beautiful" he mumbled as he watched her fists clench around the duvet. 

"No more talking" she growled and stared at him as he slowly ruffled the hair with another breath before dropping a kiss on her clitoris. She managed to keep eye contact until he licked the length of her and then had to concentrate solely on remembering to breathe. His left hand joined the game shortly after as he expertly brought her to the edge before easing off and letting her calm down a little. He kept up the technique for several minutes before she finally whimpered his name and he realised that he wanted this as much as she did. Pulling back a little he kissed her thigh. "Willow" he whispered and waited for her to look at him. "I love you," he said softly and a tiny part of his brain memorised the silly grin that grew on her face. "I love you," he said more definitely and grinned back at her before dropping down and alternating licking and sucking on her clitoris to bring her to a screaming orgasm seconds later. 

Willow could still see stars when she opened her eyes. "Oh, goddess" she moaned as he blew across her breasts again on his journey back up her body. "You are a wicked, cruel man" she scowled at him for a moment before pulling him into a kiss. "And I think I've worked out how you managed to get second dates" she giggled a couple of minutes later when he rolled away from her and took several deep breaths.

"Willow!" he growled and caught her movement out of the corner of his eye. "Willow," he said more softly as she straddled him, pinching his nipples as her hands rested on his chest. 

She took a deep breath as she raised herself enough to slide him inside, lowering herself slowly to savour the moment. "Ready?" she opened her eyes to see him with a frown on his face that she recognised as deep concentration. The look became even more serious when she pushed away from his chest and sat up straight above him. She clenched her pelvic floor a couple of times to tease him before raising up and almost off of him. The silly grin had returned to her face as she slowly built up the speed and depth of penetration but Giles had screwed his eyes shut. "So much better" she sighed and leant back a little further. 

The rhythm she had built up was suddenly broken when he grabbed her hips and rolled her to the side. "Need more" he explained through gritted teeth as he rolled on top of her and started kissing her neck.

"More is good" she assured him and crunched her abdomen a little to help out. "More" she groaned and pulled his head against her neck, one hand grabbing his hair as the other scratched down his back.

"So warm" he mumbled and tried to remember the rugby game from earlier. This distraction was rather spoiled when she rolled her hips under him again and shouted his name as she shuddered and gasped. "Willow" he grunted and gave up the battle for control, biting his lip to stop himself biting her shoulder.

"Thank you" he waited till she had opened her eyes and gently brushed some hair from her forehead.

"What for?" she asked.

"For falling in love with me, for realising what was happening, for having the courage to act on it and for agreeing to live with me," he said softly and kissed her.

"I'm not sure I had any control over any of it other than the last bit" she shrugged and pulled the duvet over both of them. "And you are on probation for the living together thing for six months, remember" she grinned.

"You won't leave me" he shook his head and pulled her tight against him. "The rest of them will never agree to move all of your stuff again"

***** 

"It's not really my fault" she sighed as he slammed another pile of books onto a bookshelf. "I've only been working there for three months and I did say they could call me if anything went wrong"

"You've only been on holiday for three days, why can't someone else sort it out?" he kicked the empty box out of his way and pulled another full one towards him.

"It's your own fault for wanting to move in with a genius" she finished pulling on her sweater. "The reason they employed me was that they don't have anyone else who can do this kind of stuff" She watched his back as he continued to stack shelves. Sighing she stepped over a box and gently rested her hand on his back. "I am sorry and I'll try to get it cleared up as quickly as possible" When he didn't react she shook her head and left the house.

Giles was clearing up dishes in the kitchen when Buffy knocked at the backdoor before pushing it open. "Hey Giles, is Willow around?" she asked brightly.

"She's gone into work" he slammed the last mug down and threw the dishtowel onto the worktop. 

"Something came up?" she asked and leaned against the doorway, preventing him leaving. "Or were you just having a fight and she decided to leave you to take it out on the dishes?"

"Buffy!" he shook his head in disgust and walked around her to the living room. "I'm just annoyed that she agreed to go into the office as soon as they called" he admitted.

"What else did you expect her to do?" Buffy asked quietly. "She grew up with a boss who expected her to drop everything and deal with the latest emergency, no matter how inconvenient it was" she smiled gently at him as he caught the gist. "The same boss who worked until the job was done and expected the same of everyone else" she watched him struggling to keep the grin from his face. "He was a mentor who would have shrugged and told her to ignore the real-life stuff with a boyfriend because the work was more important"

"I wasn't that bad" he protested.

"Maybe not" she shrugged, only partially agreeing with him. "But surely you understood how much we all changed because of the years of working together, and Willow changed more than any of us"

"And now she's saddled with a pathetic old man who has a tantrum when she dares to put anything else ahead of him" he frowned again.

"I know she's not saving the world and that international banking may well count as working for the bad guys" Buffy grinned. "But you taught her well and she won't let someone else take the slack"

They sat in silence for a few minutes as he struggled to see the situation from Willow's point of view. "Perhaps you have a point" he finally conceded and glared at Buffy as she grinned. "What did you want her for anyway?" he asked to change the subject.

"Just needed her advice on something, I'll catch up with her later" she shrugged and headed for the front door. 

"Give me five minutes and I'll give you a lift" he pushed up from the chair and headed upstairs. When he came back down ten minutes later he had changed into his black jeans and a clean white shirt. 

"What's the occasion?" Buffy asked as they drove towards the centre of town.

"I need to get a present to apologise for being a grumpy old man" he sighed and checked the traffic before pulling onto the main street.

"Well I have seen this fabulous pair of shoes" she giggled and was relieved to see him laughing as well.

"Not for you" he rolled his eyes and pulled into a parking space. 

"Hey, I've put up with more grumpy old man fits than Willow ever has" Buffy reasonably pointed out. "Besides, I still haven't got you back for duping me out of shoes on the last shopping trip" she suddenly remembered their trip to the mall six months before.

"I promise, once I get the payment from the Council for the Mavid translation, I'll take you shopping" he walked around the car to open her door for her. "In the meantime, I have to get Willow something obscenely expensive and take her for dinner" he glanced around at the shops near them. "Any ideas?" he finally looked back towards her and smiled as she shook her head at him.

"You've got the computer place over there or the book shop around there" she pointed in two different directions. "Or the flower shop next door to the sexy lingerie place" she waggled her eyebrows and laughed as he blushed. "Oh come on Giles, I helped decorate the spare room, remember?"

He coughed and put his sunglasses back on. "Perhaps the book shop would be best" he started walking before turning to Buffy. "I'll let Willow know you were looking for her" he nodded as she waved at him and headed in the other direction.

***** 

"The patch should last for a while, at least until I can put together the justification for the upgrade" she sighed and pushed away from her desk. 

"I can't thank you enough Willow" the relieved-looking manager of her department assured her. "How about I take you to dinner to make up for breaking into your holiday?" he asked.

Willow glanced at him as she packed her laptop into her bag. "It wasn't a problem and thanks for the offer but I should really be getting home" she shouldered the bag and lifted her jacket from behind the door.

"At least let me buy you a drink?" he persisted and held the door for her into the car park.

"Rupert will be really mad if I miss out on any more of the unpacking" she glanced around, trying to remember where she had parked her car. 

"If you had moved in with me I would never be mad" he mumbled but she still managed to catch it.

"Richard, look, I'm sorry if I'm getting the wrong signals here, but Rupert and I are very happy together and I never mix business with pleasure" she watched him trying to think of a face-saving way out of the situation. "Rupert?" Willow had seen him heading towards her from the other side of the building. "What on earth are you doing here?" she asked but thanked whatever gods were listening that he had turned up. "Is something wrong?" she asked as she realised that there might be a problem.

"Nothing's wrong" he assured her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I just wanted to see if you had finished" he took her bag from her before turning and holding his hand out to the younger man who was standing next to Willow. "Rupert Giles, I don't think we've met?" he said pleasantly before noticing a slight hesitation on the other man's part.

"Sorry, Rupert this is Richard Davies, he's in charge of the IT department" Willow hurriedly made the introduction. 

"Pleasure" the younger man shook his hand before turning a bright smile on Willow. "I was just offering to buy Willow dinner for her help this afternoon" 

Giles smiled pleasantly back at him but Willow could see the tell-tale tightening around his eyes that meant he was angry. "I suspect she set the whole thing up to get out of the unpacking" he joked and put his arm around her shoulders. "However, I'm afraid I have first claim on her for dinner tonight, it's our anniversary" he lied with consummate ease. "Six months since I came back from England and we finally admitted our feelings for each other"

"You'd known each other before?" Richard asked, trying to find out how this unlikely couple had got together.

"Rupert was one of my first teaching projects" Willow desperately tried to avoid a discussion of their initial relationship and get away from the uncomfortable feelings generated by the close proximity of the two men. "I agreed to tutor him when he first got a computer and we've collaborated on several projects over the years"

"What is it you do?" Richard asked, aware that he was making Willow nervous and trying to find out why.

"I'm a consultant for a major international research institute" Giles felt the need to impress this man and a part of his brain wandered off to work out why. "In my spare time, I teach a class in Ancient History at the local University"

"Look at the time" Willow picked up the rise in testosterone levels and decided to end the discussion. "Richard, you shouldn't have any more problems and I'll work up the report when I get back from my holiday" she smiled at him and put her hand into Giles' as they walked towards his car. "That was timely" she blew out a breath as he opened the door for her.

"Was he bothering you?" he asked, looking over his shoulder as the younger man got into a car. "I'll have a word with him if you want?"

"What would you say?" she looked at him as he pulled out of the car park. "Please stop being nice to my girlfriend?"

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of asking if he liked having the use of all of his limbs" Giles admitted and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "He obviously makes you uncomfortable and I know you can deal with it yourself, but you will let me know if there is anything I can do?" He waited for her nod before reaching out and putting his hand on her thigh. "I am sorry about earlier," he said quietly and looked over his shoulder. "There are some presents for you on the back seat" he nodded.

"They're beautiful" she gasped as she saw the large bunch of flowers. "What's in the box?" she asked and turned round in her seat to try and reach it. "Rupert!" she giggled as she peeked inside the large box to see something white and lacy wrapped in tissue paper. 

"Buffy suggested books but I think you've got everything that the local bookshop stocks" he smiled and rested his hand on her thigh again.

"You don't need to apologise for earlier" she started before he interrupted.

"I know how important your work is to you and I had no right to be jealous," he said seriously. "I'm just struggling to get used to someone else having the first call on your brain" he admitted. "Buffy reminded me that I was an even more unforgiving boss in High School"

"You weren't that bad and we were trying to save the world" she reminded him. "Did Buffy come over?" 

"She said she wanted to ask your advice on something and that she'd call you later" he turned to look at her as he stopped at traffic lights. "Have I told you today how much I love you and how beautiful you are?" he leaned across to kiss her properly.

"I think you managed to convey that quite well when you woke me up this morning" she blushed as she remembered. "How about we give dinner a miss, pick up some pizza and you can remind me again" she leaned across to run her hand up his thigh.

***** 

"Hey, Buffy" Willow snuggled into the chair and yawned. "Rupert said you were looking for me earlier?" 

"I just needed a best friend chat" Buffy leaned against the tomb wall. "What you doing for lunch tomorrow?"

"Nothing much, we could meet at the Espresso Pump, is everything OK?" Willow wasn't too worried as Buffy sounded happy.

"Everything's fine, I'll explain tomorrow" Buffy smiled and glanced over her shoulder. "Can you hang on for a second?" she asked and rested the phone on top of a gravestone. "Sorry about that" she picked it up a minute later and headed towards the cemetery gates. "So, did Giles manage to make up?" she grinned.

"He decided against the books and went with the flowers instead" Willow laughed when Buffy explained her advice from earlier. "Yeah, he went in there too" she admitted and the two girls giggled.

*****

Willow looked around the Espresso Pump and waved at Buffy as she saw her sitting at a corner table. "Please" she smiled at the waiter as he suggested her usual. "OK, spill it" she rested her elbows on the table and glared at Buffy.

"It's nothing world ending" Buffy shrugged and smiled at the waiter as he put Willow's coffee on the table. "Is it OK if I bring someone to the party on Saturday night?" she asked and rearranged the sugar packets in the dispenser.

"Who is he?" Willow demanded and bounced on her seat. "What's his name, where did you meet him and have you checked him out?" she finally ran out of breath.

"His name's John and he plays in a band and I met him at the Bronze a couple of weeks ago and yes, I have checked him out" she grinned as she got to the last part.

"Slut" Willow giggled. "I meant you've seen him in the daylight and stuff?" she sipped her coffee.

"I don't only ever go out with vampires" Buffy protested and looked sheepish as Willow raised her eyebrow. "Alright, yes, I've seen him in the daylight and he didn't turn into a fiery ball"

"Give me his full name and I'll run a check when I get home" Willow pulled out a notebook and Buffy grudgingly wrote down his name and address. "Of course you can bring him on Saturday, how much have you told him?"

"Just the basic, non-demony stuff" Buffy shrugged. "He thinks I'm a personal trainer"

***** 

"What do we know about him?" Giles frowned as he leaned against the door of Willow's study and watched her search the internet. 

"As soon as I know more than his name I'll tell you" she sighed and scanned down the list of search results. "This looks promising" she mumbled and clicked through several more options. 

"I just don't think her track record is exactly reassuring" he sighed and moved into the room to sit on a chair and look over her shoulder.

"Ooooohh" Willow leaned back in her chair and pointed to a picture. "I think her average score just went up a few points" she grinned at the picture of a blonde drummer sitting at the back of a group shot. 

"Isn't he a little young for her?" Giles suggested before smiling as Willow looked at him in astonishment. "I'll go and put the kettle on, shall I?" he suggested as she nodded and reached for her phone. 

"Buffy, he's really cute," she said excitedly. "Uhuh" she mumbled agreement as Buffy elaborated on his other attributes. "But doesn't that mean he'll have a gig on Saturday night?" she asked and scanned down the list of upcoming appearances for the band.

"He said he'll have to leave by nine but he'd love to meet up with you guys" Buffy cradled the phone on her shoulder as she continued to make dinner. 

"And you have warned him about Giles?" Willow checked over her shoulder to make sure he was still downstairs. "I mean, he's pretty protective of you"

"You didn't see him when I told him about Spike" Buffy rolled her eyes and kicked the oven door closed before leaning against the kitchen counter. "Ask him about it sometime" she pouted. "I need to go, see you on Saturday?" she said and had hung up the phone by the time Dawn and Martin came into the kitchen. "Hey Martin, do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked pleasantly and turned to get some plates out of the cupboard, completely missing the astonished looks passing between the two youngsters.

"Thanks, Miss Summers" Martin finally answered on Dawn's shrug.

***** 

"Explain to me again why I can't get the remote?" Willow looked at him over the arm of the sofa.

"Because you're a girl" he sighed and moved to sit next to her, lifting her legs out of the way.

"But if that was an actual law then how did Tara and I ever manage to watch TV?" she argued.

"You spent your time with Tara watching TV?" he asked incredulously.

"Sometimes" she grinned and then laughed on his continuing disbelieving look. "OK we never actually got around to it but the point is a valid one" she argued.

"Here, you can have it while I get this call" he dropped the remote in her lap and went to answer the phone. "Damn" he ran his hand through his hair. "Send me everything you've got and I'll call you back in an hour" he promised and put his head around the door of the living room. "The Council need me to look at a prophecy"

"But we were nearly snuggling" she pouted and sat up to look at him. "Is it bad?" she asked seriously.

"You know the Council, they won't pay my exorbitant fees unless they've exhausted every other avenue" he leaned across the back of the sofa to kiss her. "It sounds quite serious but I won't know until I get the information they're sending through"

"I'll put the kettle on and make us some tea" she sighed and pulled him in for another kiss before releasing him.

***** 

"Dawn, is Buffy there?" Giles yawned and wiped his hand across his eyes while he waited for Buffy. "We have a problem," he said wearily and outlined the basics of the prophecy.

"I'll call Xander and we'll be with you in half an hour," Buffy said seriously and hung up. "Dawn?" she shouted as she went to her room to change. "Can you stay over at Martin's tonight?" she asked as her sister popped her head around the side of the bedroom door.

"What's wrong?" Dawn knew that Giles had been phoning about business and didn't want to be kept out of the loop.

"Giles found a prophecy that unsurprisingly leads right back to the Hellmouth" Buffy explained. "We're meeting over at his place and we'll probably be working on it all night"

"I'll pack my bag and be ready in five" Dawn turned to head for her own room.

"Dawn" Buffy struggled into her shoes before striding after her. "Not this time, but I'll call you in a few hours and let you know that everything's OK" she assured her and went to phone Xander. "Xander'll be here in ten minutes and we'll drop you off at Martin's" she sat on the bed. "I just spoke to Martin's mom and she says she'd love to have you over, apparently you're such a polite young woman" Buffy lifted Dawn's chin with her finger and smiled. "Winning over the mom, smart move"

***** 

"Why don't we just flatten every old tomb in Sunnydale?" Xander huffed as they waited in some bushes and kept watch on a specific family tomb. "I mean I could get a couple of bulldozers from the site and we could get rid of these things once and for all"

"Xander, we can't desecrate every tomb on the off chance that it contains the organs of a thousand-year-old demon who is set to rise on this night after the sacrifice of a virgin" Giles patiently explained. "It is more mystifying how they can still find a virgin in Sunnydale" he mumbled quietly.

"Hey" Willow whispered next to him and elbowed his ribs.

"Sshhhh" Buffy waved her hand at a small pinpoint of light that was weaving across the cemetery towards them. "Heads up" she whispered and they all made sure of their weapons.

"Strange time for a picnic" she stepped out of cover as the small group of acolytes reached the tomb. They stared at her in astonishment. "I know, you must be really bummed?" she walked towards them and was aware of Giles and Xander moving to flank them. "You wait a thousand years, you go to the trouble of finding a virgin" she pointed at the unconscious girl slung over the shoulder of one of the robed figures. "Then, just when everything's about to kick off, you bump into the Slayer" she stopped a few feet from them and crossed her arms. "You know how this is going to end" she advised as the apparent leader pointed to two of them and then at her. She shook her head and flattened the first one with a punch straight to his nose before stepping to one side and flooring the other one with a straight arm to the throat. "You'll attack me and I'll beat the crap out of you" she pointed at the next one to run at her and caught him with a roundhouse kick. "A couple of you will try to run away" she inspected her nails as Xander and Giles both incapacitated the two who ran in their direction. "Then the one with the hostage will think he can bargain his way out of it" she walked deliberately towards the remaining acolyte and stared straight at him. "Put the girl down gently" she advised and watched as he carefully laid out the unconscious girl on a nearby tombstone. "Get a new hobby" she advised as she hit him once and watched as he crumpled to the ground.

"So we've moved from bad puns to screenplays?" Giles asked sourly as he helped Xander tie up the acolytes.

"I'm still working the kinks out of it but I think it went pretty well?" she looked towards Willow and grinned. "How is she?" she asked as Willow checked the girl's pupils with a small flashlight.

"Can't really tell but they needed her alive to begin with so I'd guess they slipped her something in her drink" Willow shrugged and checked her watch. "If we call the police they can get her to hospital and take these guys in for attempted date rape"

"It would avoid any unnecessary explanations" Giles nodded and handed Xander a phone. "Use this one, it was in his pocket" he nodded to one of the acolytes and watched as Xander dialed the emergency number and reported a disturbance in the cemetery.

"Just need to clear up the loose ends" Buffy hefted the gas tank to the door of the tomb before kicking the door open and rolling the open tank inside. "Giles, did you ever find the matches?" she grinned.

"You told her?" Willow stared at him in astonishment before walking towards the tomb and conjuring a small flame in her hand. "Just you wait till I get you home" she threatened and carelessly threw the flame over her shoulder as she walked back towards their car.

Giles shook his head and watched the interior of the tomb fill with smoke and flames before heading after the others. 

***** 

"And then Giles and I both stepped out and pow" Xander mimed a solar plexus punch. "Bam" he did the same for a left hook. "The final two bad guys are eating dirt" he nodded at an impressed Dawn.

"I still don't see why I couldn't have come along?" she pouted. 

"Surely the pajama party at Martin's was more fun?" Buffy asked as she carried a tray of drinks past them. "Stop talking about work and mingle" she frowned at both of them and waited till they had lifted glasses and wandered off to join the party. 

"So Buffy tells me you used to play in a band?" the young blonde asked nervously as he sat at a garden table across from Giles.

"About two hundred years ago" Giles admitted and grinned as Willow dropped a kiss on his head. "We liked to think we were a bit of a cutting edge rock band" he stretched in his chair and smiled at the memories. "Leather jackets and groupies" he remembered happily.

"Do you still play?" he asked and the two men settled into an extended discussion on classic songs.

"He's really cute" Willow assured Buffy as they both sat on the steps of the decking and watched Giles and John in deep discussion. 

"He's cute and funny and smart" Buffy sighed and a soppy grin settled on her face. "And the tight butt in those jeans, mmmmmmmm" 

"Yeah" Willow nodded in agreement.

"Hey" Buffy finally shook herself out of the contemplation of his butt to look at Willow. "I still can't quite get used to you doing the guy thing again" she grinned as Willow blushed.

"I never stopped doing the guy thing" she whispered. "I just do the girl thing as well" she admitted.

"Still?" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "What does Giles say about that?"

"John's is the first cute butt I've ogled since I got together with Giles" she held up her hands. "And I don't see what's wrong in admiring from afar" she nodded and giggled.

"Will?" Xander shouted at her and waved from across the garden. "Settle an argument" he pointed to where Martin and Dawn were sitting on the grass. "Did my egg last longer than yours in science class?" he winked at her as she looked at him in astonishment.

"You hard boiled your baby Xan" she sighed and smiled as Dawn and Martin started to laugh. "Never take advice from Xander about science" she warned them seriously before checking her watch. "Come and help me in the kitchen" she put her arm through his and left the others sitting together.

"Are you going to sit there being served all day?" she leaned down to whisper in Giles' ear as she passed. "Because you'll only pay for it later once everyone has gone" she promised.

"Have a seat" he stood up and offered Willow his seat. "Let me take care of the hosting duties for a while" he suggested and headed towards the kitchen.

***** 

"I think today was a success" he sighed as he dropped into the armchair and yawned. "But I thought they'd never leave" he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.

"Who knew that being a hostess was such hard work?" she gave in to a jaw-cracking yawn. "Can we leave the cleaning up till tomorrow?" she pouted.

"I'll sort it out in the morning" he assured her and moved to sit next to her on the sofa. "You worked really hard to organise everything so leave the rest to me"

"If you insist" she mumbled and snuggled into his chest as he put his arm around her. "You seemed to be getting on OK with John?" she smiled up at him.

"He's a nice bloke, certainly a lot better than the last one" he frowned and rested his head on the back of the sofa. "Asked if I'd sit in on a few sessions to let them hear some of the old stuff" he grinned as she pulled back to look at him.

"You're going to be in a band?" she giggled and stood up. "You know that I've always had a thing for musicians?" she held out her hand and pulled him up. 

"I try to ignore your past relationships, particularly the ones that involved werewolves" he rested his hands on her hips as she preceded him upstairs.

"Thank you for today" she leaned against his back as he looked at his eyes in the bathroom mirror. "It felt kind of weird to welcome all of our friend's to our home but I got used to being the Lady of the Manor by the end of it"

"Oh god, you haven't been reading Lady Chatterley have you?" he asked as he pulled his sweater and t-shirt off. "I don't think I`ve got the energy to be a lusty gardener tonight" he wrapped his arms around her as she leaned against him.

"Surely you're not fed up with the Librarian and naughty pupil already?" she started to giggle but it was cut off with a huge yawn. 

He helped her undress before dropping the rest of his clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. "I watched you today" he admitted as she turned on her side to let him spoon her. 

"Can't get out of the habit?" she asked.

"Wouldn't ever want to" he admitted and pulled her tighter against him. "You were laughing with Xander and I had a flashback to a time in the library when you were trying to tutor him for a Chemistry test" he leaned down to kiss her neck before continuing. "He finally seemed to get the hang of it and answered a couple of questions correctly and you leaned across to kiss him" he heard her breathing starting to slow down and knew that she was nearly asleep. "He turned around and asked you why you'd done it and you told him it was a reward for him being so smart" he smiled at the memory. 

"I don't remember" she mumbled and kissed his arm where it cradled her head.

"I remember it vividly because it was one of the first occasions where I felt jealous and it took me months to work out that I was starting to have feelings for you" he took a deep breath. "If I'd known then that I'd end up one day, lying in our bed with you in my arms, I'd probably have admitted myself to the nearest hospital for treatment for concussion"

"Sometimes I can't quite believe we've ended up here either" Willow admitted in a quiet voice and turned around in his arms. "But there is nowhere else I'd rather be than right here"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first started writing fanfiction it was Buffy that sparked my imagination. Although I adored Tara/Willow when they came along I still think that Willow and Giles would have been the obvious het ship for the show. Giles only notices his feelings for Willow have changed after she's left college and with Tara so this avoids the mess of "teacher lusting after student" thing, I hope!
> 
> First posted in April 2005 in the Hairy Eyeball Yahoo Group. I've met many friends over the years from the Yahoo Groups that were setup when the interweb was a new thing so I have everlasting gratitude to anyone who ran one or participated in one.
> 
> One thing that may annoy, while the characters speak using Americanisms where possible (if I managed it correctly) the rest of the fic runs with English spelling. The eye twitch I get from missing "u"s or "z"s instead of "s"s were concerning my optician so I'm afraid you'll all just need to live with it :)


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